Both of the young men worked varying hours per day depending on need and availability. The young family friend had helped out at the farm for a couple of years, working during the summer, and on a part-time basis while school was in session. The 16-year-old farm owner’s son and friend had worked on the farm together for a while and both were very comfortable with farm work, and eagerly took on a variety of tasks that were presented to them. Both of the victims were experienced at doing a variety of farm work but had minimal experience in working on or in silos. The work activity for each of the boys was determined by the farm owner who set up assignments for the victims on a regular basis. The young men worked various jobs and projects on the farm, some of which were routine tasks such as helping with the irrigation system for the hay fields and others as needed, such as being helpers for the silo maintenance project discussed in this investigation report. One of the victims was a family member (son) of the farm owners and the other 16-year-old was a close friend of the first victim and of the farm family. On occasion, the farm would hire part-time temporary help to fill with seasonal or other work coverage needs.īoth victims were 16-year-old male high school students. The daily farm work activities were performed by the farm owners, family members and by several employees who worked regularly for the farm. The hay was stored in silos and other storage formats at the farm. The farm also grew hay, which was used for dairy cattle feed. The farm’s primary product was the production of milk that was sold through a cooperative dairy products organization. The two young victims were working on a small family dairy farm, consisting of approximately 200 head of dairy cattle. The incident was carefully reviewed with the WISHA Compliance Officer who provided valuable insight related to the incident, based on their investigation.Īfter waiting for a reasonable period of time, the FACE Field Investigator contacted the farm owners who graciously allowed the FACE team to visit the farm and the incident site. The Washington FACE Field Investigation team met with the regional WISHA representative assigned to this case. ![]() The two victims died in a confined space incident in a farm silo located in eastern Washington state. In August of 2003, the Washington State FACE Program was notified by WISHA * (Washington Industrial Safety & Health Administration) (now known as DOSH, Division of Occupational Safety & Health), of the death of two 16 -year-old male farm workers. ![]() All permit-required confined spaces must have detailed rescue processes and personnel in place.Employers need to maintain close supervision of all teen employees and contractors.Employers need to have processes in place that prevent unauthorized entry.Employers and contractors need to follow manufacturers’ recommended maintenance procedures.Employers should consider contacting external expert consultants/contractors to help with confined space management and confined space entry processes.Employers should review and use alternative methods so that confined space entry is not required.Employers should have a detailed confined space entry plan in place for all confined spaces.To prevent similar occurrences, the Washington State Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigative team concluded that employers working on farms and/or other operations that work with silos and confined spaces should follow these recommendations: Physical rescue and emergency response was hampered by having untrained persons attempting a confined space rescue at height, and the time-lag of the rescue personnel’s arrival at the site. ![]() ![]() Emergency medical persons were called and responded to the incident. The farm owner, as soon as he learned that the two young workers were unresponsive in the silo, attempted to rescue them. The two victims were discovered unconscious inside the 90-foot silo shortly after the silo representative had returned to the farm. There were no witnesses to the event, as the silo representative left the site temporarily during the time of the incident, and the other farm workers, including the farm owners, were working elsewhere on the farm site. The two young men were in the process of helping a silo dealer/distributor service representative conduct maintenance in the silo when the incident happened. In August of 2003, two 16-year-old farm workers died when they were asphyxiated in an oxygen-limiting silo.
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