Do Clinics in Meat and Poultry Plants Endanger Workers?

Most meatpacking workers are Black, Latinx, and immigrant workers earning low wages and at high risk for occupational injury. Most meat and poultry plants have on-site workplace clinics (OWCs) where workers are required to obtain care for work-related injuries or illnesses before seeking outside clinical assessment or intervention. Although OWCs can help plant managers identify and mitigate hazards, government and other investigations reveal that OWCs in meatpacking plants not only fail to advocate for safer work conditions, but also nurture conditions that exacerbate injury and illness.

Under-recording of work-related injuries and illnesses: An OSHA priority.

Introduction: A 2009 Government Accounting Office (GAO) report, along with numerous published studies, documented that many workplace injuries are not recorded on employers' recordkeeping logs required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and consequently are under-reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), resulting in a substantial undercount of occupational injuries in the United States.

Methods: OSHA conducted a Recordkeeping National Emphasis Program (NEP) from 2009 to 2012 to identify the extent and causes of unrecorded and incorrectly recorded occupational injuries and illnesses.

Results: OSHA found recordkeeping violations in close to half of all facilities inspected.

Methemoglobinemia resulting from exposure in a confined space: Exothermic self-polymerization of 4,4'-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) material.

A worker attempting to remove solidified material inside a confined space (storage tank) suffered severe methemoglobinemia and almost died. The tank contained liquid 4,4'-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate monomer that had solidified after an equipment power failure caused excessive heating. Wearing a full-face elastomeric air-purifying respirator and Tyvek® coveralls, the worker used pneumatic air hammers to break up the solid material.

Case cluster of pneumoconiosis at a coal slag processing facility.

Background: During an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of a small coal slag processing plant with 12 current workers, four cases of pneumoconiosis were identified among former workers.

Methods: The OSHA investigation consisted of industrial hygiene sampling, a review of medical records, and case interviews.

Results: Some personal sampling measurements exceeded the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for total dust exposures of 15 mg/m(3), and the measured respirable silica exposure of 0.

Paranitroanaline poisoning: a failure in basic prevention?

The Occupational Medicine Forum is prepared by the ACOEM Occupational and Environmental Medical Practice Committee and does not necessarily represent an official ACOEM position. The Forum is intended for health professionals and is not intended to provide medical or legal advice, including illness prevention, diagnosis or treatment, or regulatory compliance. Such advice should be obtained directly from a physician and/or attorney.