The Dust in the Logs

In 2017 an explosion at a corn mill killed five workers and injured others. Corn dust is combustible, and the mill's air permit required it to run dust-collection equipment and keep monitoring logs, while safety rules required regular cleaning to limit dust build-up. Federal prosecutors later charged the company and several managers. They alleged that the mill's environmental coordinator joined a conspiracy to conceal unsafe conditions and permit violations from auditors and government agencies, and faced charges relating to falsifying environmental records and conspiring to make false statements and obstruct agency proceedings. Other managers were accused of directing staff to back-fill cleaning logs for cleanings that never happened. The coordinator pleaded not guilty and contested the charges against him at trial.