Grain Tank Fails Again

WAITSBURG - Less than eight months after it was repaired by Haskins Co. of Spokane at a cost of 140,000, the Waitsburg grain bin that split and spilled several thousand bushels of wheat last year failed again in the same spot, Northwest Grain Growers officials said Tuesday. "This should not have happened," said David Gor­don, general manager for Walla Walla-based North­west Grain Growers. "But when these things happen, you correct them."

Gordon said about 1,500 bushels spilled from the bin this time and crews started releasing the pressure inside the full 170,000-bushel tank Monday. The leak was dis­covered on Sunday. The bin on Bolles Road near the Main Street bridge first failed in November 2009. Repairs under a claim through Nationwide Insur­ance were completed in April in time for the summer harvest.

The rupture then occurred about 10 feet from ground level and slowly traveled along the seams of the cor­rugated metal sheets that form the structure's hull. This time, the rupture hap­pened in about the same spot but it didn't travel up the bin, Gordon said. The leak didn't release as much of the grain either.

"I was a lot more con­cerned last time," Gordon said, recalling crews and truckers worked around the clock to empty the bin to avoid compromising the storage structure further. "We had a real fear (then) that the whole tank would split."

Gordon declined to specu­late on the cause, saying he has contacted Haskins officials to come out and investigate the structure and their own repairs after the bin has been emptied, a process that could take several weeks.

In a curt response to a re­porter's questions, a Haskins official said his engineering and construction company decided to decline comment.

The Waitsburg bin was one of two local tanks that failed late last year. The other was located in Prescott. Both needed repairs. In Waitsburg, Haskins replaced the bottom 10 rings of metal using thick­er sheets and bigger bolts. The structure has a total of 25 rings. At the time the repairs were underway, Northwest Grain Growers operations manager John Cranor said, "We're looking forward to not having another one of those (ruptures) soon."