Close call has OSHA putting renewed emphasis on grain bin safety

[Pioneer Press, February 09, 2010] Four days after spending more than eight hours trapped up to his chest inside a Farmington grain silo, Mark Malecha returned to work Monday. Authorities are investigating reports he was not wearing a safety harness when, while attempting to unclog clumped or frozen grain, he fell into the bin Thursday.

Minnesota Task Force One, an interjurisdictional group of emergency responders, helped free Malecha. Dr. Paul Satterlee, a task force member who serves as associate medical director for Allina Medical Transportation, was one of a crew of professionals overseeing Malecha's care. He said seven medics traded shifts inside the bin, monitoring an IV-line that fed warm bicarbonate fluids—a baking soda-like substance—into Malecha's bloodstream to keep his blood acidity low and combat any accumulating toxins, a possible side effect of muscle damage. Read the full story at twincities.com.