Texas is home to many, many ranch and agricultural workers. These workers perform very hard labor under intense sun and heat. Too often, the conditions are made even worse by dangerous workplaces. When this is the case, serious injuries and even death can result.

Recently, a Corpus Christi worker who was emptying grain from a grain storage bin was buried and miraculously saved by local firefighters. Following this incident, the company, Corpus Christi Grain Co., was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for six willful and 20 serious violations for putting its workers in danger.

The citations amounted to $258,900 in proposed fines after OSHA conducted an inspection of the workplace where the grain bin incident occurred.

"Employees working in grain storage buildings are exposed to dangerous conditions, and proper safety measures must be taken," the director of OSHA's Corpus Christi office said in a press release. "If OSHA's standards were followed, it is possible this unfortunate incident could have been avoided."

In August 2010 and February 2011, OSHA sent notification letters to more than 13,000 grain elevator operators warning them of proper safety precautions. However, it appears that this grain company ignored the warnings and it will now pay the price.

OSHA is accusing the grain company of willfully failing to provide personal protective equipment for employees working with stored grain and willfully ignored five other required safety measures while workers are inside of grain bins. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for OSHA's requirements or employee safety and health.

Additionally, OSHA cited the company with 20 serious violations, or ones that lead to a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Luckily, in this case, the worker does not appear to have suffered from any permanent serious injuries, but the results could have been catastrophic. That's why it's so important that grain companies heed OSHA's safety warnings.

Source: OSHA Regional News Release, "US Labor Department's OSHA cites Corpus Christi, Texas-based grain elevator operator following bin entrapment," Oct. 20, 2011.