2 Teen Workers Trapped Inside Grain Bin Die(One was 14)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CBS News

A grain bin accident that left two teenagers dead and a third hospitalized could have been prevented and preliminary investigations found one worker was underage and employees lacked safety equipment, a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration spokesman said Thursday.

"This was very preventable," said OSHA spokesman Scott Allen in the Department of Labor's Chicago office. "There are OSHA regulations that should have been followed and it appears they were not."

Authorities were called around 10 a.m. Wednesday to a bin owned by Haasbach LLC in Mount Carroll in northwestern Illinois, about 60 miles northeast of the Quad Cities. Rescue workers cut holes in the sides of the bin and drained thousands of pounds of corn to free the trapped workers. The bin was half full and can hold 500,000 bushels of shelled corn, authorities said.

The three employees were working inside the bin at the co-op company when the accident happened, Allen said. A fourth worker outside the bin was not injured.

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Two workers - Alejandro Pacas, 19, and Wyatt Whitebread, 14 - were pulled from the grain bin after 10 p.m. Wednesday and pronounced dead, the Carroll County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. A third worker, William Piper, 20, remained in fair condition at St. Anthony's Hospital in Rockford, a hospital spokeswoman said. All three were from Mount Carroll.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/29/national/main6725275.shtml?tag=cbsContent;cbsCarousel

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Notice how many workers are dying on the job after so many years of regulations not being enforced?

[wordpix]

1. don't we have child labor laws? one of the dead is 14 y.o.

:shrug:

[boppers]

11. They're in Agriculture. Thus, the national age limit is 12 for many farm jobs.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/childlabor102.pdf

So, yes, we have child labor laws, to enable children working on farms.

[activa8tr]

20. In the article OSHA is quoted as as saying 18 for THESE jobs!

So I'm going to assume this wasn't a "family farm" kind of thing.

[MadMaddie]

2. I am not surprised by this at all

We have regressed in this country and this is just another symptom

[Psephos]

3. Why, after 18 months of a Democratic government, are the regs not being enforced? n/t

[savalez]

5. You gotta be kidding. The rules are in place. IMO the company is at fault...

not the "Gubment". OSHA can't permanently place an employee in every business. That's some tough stuff though. Poor kids.

[Tansy_Gold]

6. So how long do you think they should need?

If the Dems can't get the government in order in 18 months, how long do you think we should give 'em? Two years? Four? How long is enough time to clean up the mess? or is it not clean-up-able? Is it so bad that not even the Dems can make a dent in it? If they can't, then why did we elect them? To hold the status quo?

These are serious questions. If we, the voters who put the Dems in the majority in the House and teh Senate and in the White House, elected them to make things better, how long do we give them before we decide they aren't doing the job we elected them to do?

Or maybe we need to step back even from that ultimatum and decide just exactly what it is we expected/wanted them to do? What would have been our standard of measure for "success" by the Obama administration? Campaign promises kept? Repeal of DADT? Rolling back the tax cuts for the rich? Exiting Iraq and Afghanistan? Putting the economy back on the right track? And what would be the markers of success?

They don't have forever, you know.



Tansy Gold, NTY

[tabatha]

7. Good grief!

How about people taking responsibility? If I was negligent enough to put my child in a dangerous situation, is it the government's fault? You have to be kidding.

[Occulus]

14. We have regulations and they were apparently violated, resulting in death n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

15. "How about people taking responsiblity" is a classic

right wing response.

[tabatha]

19. I am not a right-winger.

I believe in regulations.

But there are situations where there cannot be an army of people watching everyone's every single move.

I object to people blaming Obama for this.

Obama is a responsible person who advocates that people should be responsible too.

The word responsible does not belong to right-wingers.

[superconnected]

29. They had no saftey harnesses which was an OSHA violation.

The company is who should take responsibility.

[tabatha]

30. Yes, exactly.

It is NOT Obama's fault.

Whoever allowed it should take responsibility.

That is why we have courts.

[K8-EEE]

8. OH COME ON...

Every time somebody doesn't follow code and regulations Obama should have prevented it? Jesus....

[Tansy_Gold]

16. Savalez edited the post -- originally it said something

to the effect that the current Administration had only had 18 months to clean up the mess left by the previous administration. I simply asked how long Savalez thought would be enough time for the current government to get things back in order.

We ALL know Obama was left with a mess. In OSHA, in MMS, in everything. Do we simply say for the next 2 1/2 or 6 1/2 years that nothing is his fault, or his administration's fault? How long do we give them a pass on things? How long before we say they're not doing their jobs? How long before we open our eyes and admit either things haven't changed at all, or they've changed for the worse?

I know I'm preaching to the silent choir and I don't care -- I'm also preaching to the lurkers.

There comes a time when we, the voters, have to hold our elected officials accountable, even the ones we placed a lot of hope and trust in. That's our job. And we can do it by voicing our "concerns," or we can do it at the ballot box.

Or, of course, since there are other options, we can just pretend none of it is happening, that everything is just peachy keen, and be blissfully happy.

I simply asked a question. If you have an answer, fine. If all you can do is express outrage that I dared to ask it, I guess that's fine too. But I'm going to keep asking questions.



Tansy Gold, NTY

[activa8tr]

21. We have laws against lots of things, like murder, but so far, Obama's folks haven't

stopped all murders either.

You seem to lack common sense. It was not the Obama folks who broke the law, it was the company and perhaps the workers.

[savalez]

31. I really don't remember saying that? The post above mine mentions 18 months but I didn't.

[boppers]

12. How long before they stop all crime?

Really? That's your perspective?

[zogofzorkon]

23. We will give them however long it takes for the lobbyist's

cash to run out and the campaign contributions to dry up. Might be a while.

[activa8tr]

22. Exactly right! nt

[TheWraith]

9. Shortest possible answer...

Businesses not adjusting to the idea of having to be responsible again after the 8 year vacation from all regulation that was the Bush administration. Combined with the fact that many of the people in jobs at various regulatory agencies are still Bush plants, the product of Rove's deliberate violation of hiring laws, people who it's going to take many years to root out.

[Lorien]

4. Horrible. Like that scene in "Witness". nt

[AngryOldDem]

25. I can't imagine a worse way to die.

[proteus_lives]

10. Awful.

I've lived in corn country. I've heard too many horrible farming accident stories. :shiver:

[avaistheone1]

13. I have definitely noticed

[hedgehog]

17. I can't find the details, but don't be fooled by the "Haasbach LLC"

I suspect that's the legal construct for a family farm. Farmers are notorious for working with old equipment that frequently has been repaired numerous times. It's part of a "make do or do without" mentality. Often, any safety features built into the equipment are gone 40 years later.

The other problem is communication: my husband works for a large corporation. Any major accident gets examined and then the details are given to every plant so people are made aware of the problem. Frequently, the orders are to drop everything else and put a mechanical fix and/or change in procedure in place. State and Federal agriculture departments and OSHA as well as various private associations try to educate farmers about hazards, but the message doesn't always get across.


Again, my guess is that at least one of these young men was an immigrant with a limited English vocabulary. Again, I suspect no one involved had any idea of the hazards of entering a grain bin.

http://grainnet.com/pdf/Grain_Entrapment_Prevention.pdf

The pile of corn can look solid, but it can act like quicksand.


As far as the child labor aspect goes, where do you draw the line between chores and child labor? Would anyone here object to a kid mowing lawns for a summer job? What about running a large ride-on mower? How different is that from running a hay mow?

[Tansy_Gold]

18. Just FYI regarding that hay. . . .

Hedgehog wrote:

As far as the child labor aspect goes, where do you draw the line between chores and child labor? Would anyone here object to a kid mowing lawns for a summer job? What about running a large ride-on mower? How different is that from running a hay mow?

A hay mow (rhymes with "cow," not with "blow") is not the same as a hay "mower." The mow is actually the place, usually in the top of the barn, where the bales of hay are stored.



TG, NTY

[activa8tr]

24. I found the address: and googled a satellite map of it

10650 MILL ROAD MT. CARROLL, IL 61053

Doesn't look like any "family farm", from the aerial view.. and is labeled "Grain and Field Bean Merchant Wholesalers" on inspection reports, also Googled. Then there is a label on the map NOT listing "HAASBACH LLC" but rather "Consolidated Grain and Barge Co"

See all the corporate tap dancing going on here? I am reminded of reports I have seen about chicken farms run by Perdue.

Last I knew, the occupation of "wholesaling" was NOT what family farms do. Family farms grow crops and animals.


Also found THIS:

"MOUNT CARROLL – None of the three individuals involved in the double-fatal grain bin accident Wednesday was wearing a safety harness, preliminary findings show, and the <14> -year-old who died should not have been working there at all, an OSHA spokesman said Thursday."

"According to state and federal regulations, no one younger than 18 can work in a job deemed hazardous, so Whitebread should not have been working inside the bin, Allen said.

The facility, at 10650 Mill Road just off state Route 64, is owned by Haasbach LLC, which is owned by the Harbach Family Partnership, based in Warren, and Haas & Haas, LLC, based in Elizabeth."

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2010/07/29/42791602/index.xml

[Critters2]

27. Any adult working around grain knows the hazards. I still remember my

grandmother's INSISTENCE that we kids NEVER play around the grain bins, even when they were empty. Didn't want us getting comfortable being around them, because they were so dangerous when filled with grain.

[Critters2]

26. It's a horrible thing to have happen.

The first funeral I did--assisted at, wasn't ordained yet--was for a teenager who died this way. Stood on top of a gravity wagon full of soybeans. The beans gave way and he fell in. His father emptied the wagon from the bottom, desperately trying to save him, but to no avail. Really sad. Farming is a more dangerous occupation than lot of people realize. When I was serving churches where the majority were farmers, I never took vacation during the harvest, because there was so much risk of tragic events.

[activa8tr]

28. Interesting to read of your perspective. Most of us never think

about the people who grow and harvest our food.

I bet there are a number of deaths of non-documented farm workers that we never hear or read about, too.

[bigrobot]

32. Grain elevator accident Mt. Carroll, Illinois

Alex Pacas, 19, was my nephew. He has been bi-lingual since birth. His dad is from El Salvador, but the comment about migrant workers is still valid. It was Alex's second day on the job. He was told the day before to also "walk the grain" with the auger on. THIS IS AGAINST ALL SAFETY RULES. He was never provided any safety equipment. He died trying to rescue Wyatt,who was engulfed when the crust collapsed under him. Wyatt's father is a vet and I doubt, if he knew what they were having Wyatt do, he would have allowed it and would have reported it! Fact is, kids want to work and will do as told. The employer should NEVER have put any of them in that situation. SAD REALITY - OSHA's criminal penalty for death is considered a misdemeanor with a 6 month jail sentence, fine of $7000 - provided it is even imposed - which is VERY RARE! You can kill an animal and EPA has stronger criminal penalties and fines. OSHA needs to be both fully empowered and fully funded. NOT until corporations/people are held responsible and have to PAY will things change. It's often less expensive to pay the fine than be safe - the greed of corporate america. I do want to say, Mt.Carroll is a wonderful, caring, generous community - the number of people who responded and helped was incredible. They are sickened by this. But the comments about the ag community are accurate. Many of the accidents/deaths are not reported. You can go to the weeklytoll.com.blogspot or the website for 16 deaths per day for a realistic view of how many workers are killed. I encourage everyone to support passage of Protecting America Workers Act HR 2067 and S 1580 and the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 HR5663 and S3671 which include parts of the Family Bill of Rights and important changes for OSHA. That said, the 16th District where this accident occurred received over $36 Million in farm subsidies in 2008. I wonder how this will effect passage of any legislation relating to improving ag safety? TAKE CARE,BE SAFE, BE EMPOWERED. Report all safety violations in your workplace, encourage others to do the same, and, if you are a manager, be harsh on your workers to follow all safety procedures - it will help to prevent accidents and might just save their lives. Remember the old - STOP, LOOK, LISTEN - still applies.