Less than a year after the death of 4 people in Kansas from a grain elevator explosion a wrongful death lawsuit by the families of the deceased has been filed. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) filed a report in April blaming the deaths on the grain company in question.
According to the Washington Post, “Among the willful violations, OSHA alleged Bartlett Grain allowed grain dust, which is nine times as explosive as coal dust, to accumulate and used compressed air to remove dust without first shutting down ignition sources. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
“The serious violations, defined as those with a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm, include claims that there was a lack of preventative maintenance and that the housekeeping program was deficient because it didn’t prevent grain dust accumulations.”
Bartlett Grain is appealing the OSHA filings and has no comment on the pending lawsuits.