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Two Workers Killed By Egg Barn

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

Two construction workers were killed Wednesday while repairing a chicken barn in Ohio. Three other workers escaped with minor injuries. High winds were estimated at up to 70 miles per hour. In total, three 15-year-old barns made of cinder blocks and metal roofs collapsed on the workers. At the time there were no chickens in the barns, and they were being renovated for future bird habitation. Ohio Fresh Eggs produces around 5 million eggs per day throughout Ohio.
The two men killed have been identified as Kevin Maddox and Joseph Dixon. Dixon planned to be married next month, and had two daughters aged 5 and 9 years old, reported FoodManufacturing.com.
A different Ohio Fresh facility suffered another casualty last September when a worker fell from a ladder to his death inside a grain bin. In March over 250,000 hens were killed at another farm by a massive fire. Ohio Farm Fresh has a history of high water pollution and has been cited for many law violations. Just last year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined the company $300,000 for water pollution. Neighbors complain about fly and rodent infestations around the company's facilities. In 2003 the Department of Agriculture revoked the farm's permit to operate, but this decision was overturned by an appeals panel. Ohio Fresh Eggs spokeswoman Hinda Mitchell said the two workers killed were not employed by the farm, but by an outside contractor.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on August 07, 2010 (boomark / email).