Cleanup has begun at the site of a grain bin that collapsed last Thursday morning (3/25/10) at SunPrairie Grain of Minot.

The process is expected to take three weeks or more.

The first step is moving much of the 720,000 bushels of sunflowers stored in a bin that is a twin to the one that collapsed. Because the cause of the accident is yet to be determined, it was thought prudent to remove much of the contents of the remaining bin to reduce the risk of a second collapse.

"We're still pulling sunflowers out of the remaining bin," said Brad Haugeberg, SunPrairie Grain general manager, Monday afternoon. "We'll get it pulled down a fair distance so it is safer. We'll need to leave some flowers in there to keep pressure on both sides."

Grain from the bin that collapsed remains stacked up against a portion of the standing bin. Overturned railcars still lie alongside the south side of the SunPrairie facility, courtesy of tons of grain that cascaded out of the ruptured bin. Underneath the railcars are tons of grain on the railroad tracks that serve the elevator.

"We've got four tracks there. At least two are pushed over. The others we don't know about and won't know until we get a little further along with this cleanup," said Haugeberg. "We've got a salvage company on site that specializes in this. They'll do both the building and the grain."

According to Haugeberg, the bin that collapsed, and the bin that remains standing, are less than a year old and still under warranty. It is expected that inspectors will be able to determine a cause for the collapse, but it might take several days or weeks.

"There's a lot of unanswered questions. We don't even know about the concrete base. We need to get the grain moved and see if that integrity is okay," said Haugeberg.

What is learned during the cleanup and investigation of the wreckage is considered vital to determining the cause of the collapse. It is also thought necessary to help in making a determination as to the stability of the remaining bin. Meanwhile, operations at SunPrairie Grain have slowed down.

"Obviously, we're a little bit hindered to handle customer grain until we get this cleaned up," said Haugeberg.

If the process goes as expected and the weather cooperates, the operation could be concluded around April 20.

Source: The Minot Daily News