((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto)) by PJ Huffstutter
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co
ADM.N intentionally failed to test and maintain safety systems on its grain equipment for years, contributing to an explosion that killed a worker and left him in a coma last year, according to a lawsuit filed against the company.
The explosion was part of a series of security incidents at ADM’s facility in Decatur, Illinois, where the grain trader’s North American headquarters is located.
On Thursday, ADM declined to comment on the lawsuit and the incidents.
The company’s shares have come under pressure this year due to a global grain supply glut, and the company is also the subject of U.S. government investigations into accounting irregularities.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Macon County, Illinois, Circuit Court, alleges that worker Antonio McElrath was at a Decatur facility, known as West Plant, in April 2023, when he was asked by a supervisor to close a tube of grain “leg” that was beginning to smoke.
An explosion occurred when the tube was opened, and Mr. McElrath was standing in its direct path, according to the lawsuit.
Mr. McElrath, now 44, was in an induced coma for two to three weeks following the accident, his lawyer Timothy Shay said. “He suffered significant injuries and is still recovering
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that ADM failed to inspect or test critical safety systems in the explosion that injured Mr. McElrath and two other workers.
ADM had fire and explosion suppression systems in place to prevent problems and keep workers safe, but those systems did not work, according to the complaint.
ADM’s sprawling grain and oilseed processing complex in Decatur also suffered dust explosions in 2018 and 2019, fires in 2019 and a smoldering event this summer at the west plant, according to the suit.
Separately, workers were injured by an explosion at the site’s East plant in September 2023. And on Monday, an industrial fire broke out in the sorbitol production department of ADM’s East plant, according to the service Decatur Fire Department.
