The new guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) go beyond poultry houses to cover all animal slaughter and processing facilities.
Previous OSHA guidelines only applied to poultry farms. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is located in poultry farms, but is not charged with the safety of poultry workers. That’s where OSHA comes into the picture.
The new “Inspection Guidance for Animal Slaughtering and Processing Establishments” is intended by OSHA to reduce injuries and illnesses from occupational hazards in all meat and poultry processing facilities through outreach, compliance assistance and enforcement.
OSHA claims that workers in the meat and poultry industries are seriously injured at twice the rate of other workers. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the rate of occupational disease in the animal slaughter and processing industry in 2022 was six times higher than the average for all industries.
According to OSHA, the rate of carpal tunnel syndrome in the industry was more than seven times the national average. Serious hazards include exposure to high noise levels, dangerous equipment and machinery, slippery floors, hazardous chemicals and biological hazards associated with handling animals.
OSHA reports an increasing number of children working in the meat and poultry industries, often performing maintenance and cleaning duties that could impact food safety. Government inspectors plan to focus on hazards related to sanitation and cleaning operations, ergonomics, hazardous energy and machine monitoring.
“This expansion to the broader animal slaughter and processing industry (NAICS 3116) is based on OSHA’s determination that this industry has a high Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate (i.e., above the 1.7 private sector national average).” according to the document. “This initiative aims to significantly reduce the number of injuries and illnesses caused by occupational hazards through a combination of enforcement, compliance assistance and outreach.”
Associated hazards that will be included are:
- Sanitary facilities and cleaning activities
- Ergonomics/Musculoskeletal disorders
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)/Payment for PPE
- Hazardous energy (Lockout/Tag-out)
- Machine monitoring
- Slipping, tripping and falling
- Process Safety Management – Ammonia
- Chemical hazards -Hazards -Ammonia, Chlorine, Hydrogen peroxide, Peracetic acid, Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen (gas and liquid)
- Occupational noise
- Exit and blocked exits
- Record keeping
According to OSHA, these focus hazards must be assessed alongside other hazards that may be the subject of the inspection or based on information collected by OSHA safety and health officials.
Employees, regardless of their socioeconomic background or immigration status, have the right under OSHA to a workplace free from known safety and health hazards and to report hazards to OSHA without fear of reprisal. OSHA is supposed to make referrals to whistleblower personnel when indicated.
According to OSHA, the hazards include exposure to peracetic acid, a bacteria killer.
Overall, OSHA finds that workers in the slaughter and processing of animals sustain serious injuries that require a day or more away from work or restricted activities to recover at a rate more than double that of private industry.
OSHA suspects that the number of injured workers may even exceed reported cases at some locations in the slaughter and processing industries due to high employee turnover, inadequate medical management, employer reporting policies, or fear of employer retaliation.
OSHA also reports that sanitation workers, including contractors and temporary workers, are at particular risk of exposure to hazards while cleaning energized machinery. This work sometimes takes place at night and employs underage workers.
OSHA also notes that workplace fatalities also occur in the meat and poultry industries due to exposure to hazardous workplaces, including, but not limited to, workplaces with hazards to those affected, unattended machinery, hazardous energy (lockout/tag- out), and the dangers of infectious diseases.
The musculoskeletal disorders that first interested OSHa in the poultry industry remain a concern. The agency says there are many such conditions, including carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), tendinitis, epicondylitis and trigger finger.
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