The owners of a Farmington grain elevator that was the scene of a dramatic rescue in February are facing seven citations and fines totaling $7,750.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the citations in April amid an investigation into the events that led Mark Malecha, a Feely Elevator employee, to be trapped inside a grain bin, buried up to his chest in corn.
It took emergency personnel eight hours to pull Malecha from the corn unharmed. He had been inside the bin trying to loosen frozen corn when the grain shifted and buried him.
Doug Gilbertson of Nerstrand Agri Center, which owns the elevator, said the company is contesting the citations. He declined to comment further.
The citations say that Feely Elevator violated multiple safety standards for grain handling, including a prohibition on "walking down grain" to make it move and a standard that calls for an observer to be outside the bin and in communication if an employee goes inside.
Other violations relate to equipment standards, including one that requires employers to provide equipment for rescues and another requiring anyone entering a grain bin to wear a harness that prevents a person from being buried more than waist deep.
Nerstrand Agri Center and OSHA will meet to discuss the violations. The investigation is ongoing.
KATIE HUMPHREY
