OSHA fines poultry processing plant for safety violations

OSHA has cited Gold Kist for allegedly exposing workers to serious and repeated safety hazards at its Russellville, Ala., poultry processing plant. The agency is proposing penalties totaling $143,000.

OSHA issued 21 serious safety citations with proposed penalties of $90,000. The citations were associated with blocked and improperly marked exits; unsafe floor conditions; inadequate personal protective equipment; insufficient machine guarding; and numerous other safety hazards.

The company also received two repeat violations with penalties totaling $50,000 for failure to keep conveyor belt work areas free from fall hazards and other unsafe conditions.

The action comes amidst growing government concern about meat and poultry industry safety. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 14.7 out of 100 industry workers are injured on the job, with workers suffering from physically demanding, repetitive work on production lines that move very quickly while they are wielding knives or other cutting instruments. They frequently work in extreme temperatures in close quarters with limited training and insufficient safeguards.

A report by OMB Watch, a Washington research organization, faults OSHA for setting voluntary ergonomic guidelines for the meat and poultry industry that are unenforceable and “a far cry from the real health and safety protection needed.”