On October 16, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the release of new inspection guidance for animal slaughtering and processing facilities.
Previous guidance only applied to poultry establishments. The updated “Inspection Guidance for Animal Slaughtering and Processing Establishments” is intended to reduce injuries and illnesses resulting from occupational hazards in the meat processing industry using a combination of outreach, compliance assistance, and enforcement.
Meat and poultry workers suffer serious injuries at double the rate of other workers, according to OSHA. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows occupational illness cases were six times higher in the animal slaughtering and processing industry than the average for all industries in 2022.
The rate of carpal tunnel syndrome in the industry was more than seven times the national average, according to OSHA. Serious hazards include exposure to high noise levels, dangerous equipment and machinery, slippery floors, hazardous chemicals, and biological hazards associated with handling animals.
The Labor Department noted an increased number of children working in the industry, often on maintenance and cleaning shifts. OSHA inspections in the industry will focus on hazards associated with sanitation and cleanup operations, ergonomics, hazardous energy, and machine guarding.
Kumho Tire facing $217K OSHA fine in fatality case
Kumho Tire Georgia, a Macon tire manufacturer, faces $271,930 in OSHA penalties following a 57-year-old maintenance worker’s death, the agency announced October 16.
The worker was fatally injured when working on a machine that unexpectedly started. Agency investigators determined the employer bypassed lockout/tagout procedures meant to prevent machinery from accidentally starting during maintenance, relying instead on basic on/off controls and sensors.
The agency also found the facility lacked sufficient machine guarding to protect workers from caught-in hazards and discovered missing guardrails and uncovered holes, exposing workers to fall hazards.
OSHA cited the company with one repeat violation, 12 serious violations, and two other-than-serious violations. The agency has repeatedly cited Kumho Tire Georgia for noncompliance, having inspected the facility nine times and citing 52 violations. In 2019, OSHA added Kumho Tire Georgia to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). Employers in the SVEP are subject to mandatory follow-up inspections and increased pressure to abate cited hazards.
“Kumho Tire Georgia has repeatedly failed to protect its employees, and this time that negligence resulted in a preventable tragedy,” Joshua Turner, OSHA’s Atlanta area office director, said in an agency statement.
Kumho Tire Georgia is a Chinese- and Korean-owned tire manufacturer, according to OSHA, and the facility has been in operation since 2016.
Alabama countertop installer cited in worker’s death
Huntsville Granite and Marble LLC, an Alabama countertop installation company, faces $29,035 in OSHA penalties after a 33-year-old employee at a Huntsville jobsite was fatally struck by a stone slab weighing thousands of pounds, the agency announced October 17.
OSHA investigators found that the company’s employees were using a forklift to take stone slabs off a storage rack when a slab became unsecured and struck the worker. They discovered that an improperly secured load and a damaged rigging hook with a missing safety latch contributed to the incident and determined the employer:
- Failed to develop and implement safe procedures, including worker training, for moving stone slabs;
- Permitted workers to use a damaged rigging hook that was missing a safety latch;
- Allowed workers to use worn and damaged straps;
- Failed to ensure forklift attachments used were manufacturer-approved; and
- Neglected to evaluate forklift operators’ performance at least every three years.
“Huntsville Granite and Marble didn’t uphold its duty to keep workers safe,” Joel Batiz, OSHA’s Birmingham, Alabama, area office director, said in a statement.