The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a farm after a young worker was killed while trying to clear a blockage in a grain bin at Hawick in Scotland.
Zach Dean Fox, 19, was working for Seamore Farming at their premises at Deanfoot Farm in Hawick.
The court was told that large metal containers known as bins were used on the farm for storing grain during harvest time. There is an exit space at the bottom of the bin to allow the grain to escape onto a chain conveyor belt.
The court heard that the bins needed to be cleaned out before moving from one type of grain to another, which happened around four times a year.
On 1 August 2014, Mr Fox was trying to clear a blockage from within the bin while it still contained a quantity of grain. He became immersed in the free flowing grain and died as a result of asphyxiation.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the incident found the system of work in place to clear blockages in the grain bin was inherently and obviously unsafe – despite the fact that blockages are not uncommon in such bins.
At Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 22 February 2016, Seamore Farming of Deanfoot Farm, Denholm in Hawick, Scotland pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company was fined £45,000.
After sentencing, HSE inspector Allison Aitken said:
“This was an entirely avoidable tragedy, which resulted in the death of a young man.
“The dangers associated with working within the confined space of grain silos and clearing blockages in grain silos are well known within the farming industry – and well documented in HSE guidance.
“Farmers should ensure that they have a safe system of work in place for clearing blockages in grain silos, which avoids the need for anyone to enter inside them.
“This can be easily achieved where necessary, by making some minor modifications to working practices to enable the task to be completed safely from outside the grain silo”.
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