Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 5/2516


The meat and poultry industries have made marked improvements in worker safety as injury and illness rates have declined over the past decade, but data collection needs to improve as hazardous conditions continue, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report published today.
GAO sought to examine developments since its 2005 report, which found the industry was one of the nation's most dangerous and that Dept. of Labor (DOL) data on worker injuries and illnesses may not be accurate. The 2005 report also recommended that DOL improve its data collection.

The new report found that injury and illness rates in the meat and poultry slaughtering and processing industry declined from 2004 through 2013, similar to rates in all U.S. manufacturing, citing to Department of Labor (DOL) data. The rates declined from an estimated 9.8 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2004 to 5.7 in 2013.

Such numbers were affirming to the industry’s trade groups.

“We are pleased to see the report emphasizes the fact that injuries and illnesses have decreased dramatically in the poultry processing industry over the past several years,” the National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association said in a joint statement.

On the red meat side, North American Meat Institute President and CEO Barry Carpenter said, “Worker safety has been a key priority in the meat industry over the last 25 years and the positive results of our efforts are clear. There is always room for improvement and we will look closely at the GAO recommendations to see how they can best be implemented in the industry.”   

However, GAO held in its report that the current rates continued to be higher than rates for manufacturing overall. Meat workers sustained a higher estimated rate of injuries and illnesses than poultry workers, the agency said, citing DOL data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evaluations and academic studies have found that workers continue to face the hazardous conditions GAO cited in 2005, including tasks associated with musculoskeletal disorders, exposure to chemicals and pathogens, and traumatic injuries from machines and tools.

The GAO also maintains in its report that the DOL’s data collection efforts on injury and illness rates in the meat and poultry industries have been challenged by underreporting and inadequate data collection, and that the DOL only collects detailed data for those injuries and illnesses that result in a worker having to take days away from work. These do not include injuries and illnesses such as musculoskeletal disorders that result in a worker being placed on work restriction or transferred to another job. Further, DOL does not have complete injury and illness data on meat and poultry sanitation workers because they may not be classified in the meat and poultry industry if they work for contractors.

“Federal internal control standards require agencies to track data to help them make decisions and meet their goals. These limitations in DOL’s data collection raise questions about whether the federal government is doing all it can to collect the data it needs to support worker protection and workplace safety,” the GAO report states.
Industry groups, however, refute the report on the issue of data collection. They noted, for example, their participation in a recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) National Emphasis Program on recordkeeping, and extensive violations of underreporting were not identified.

Nonetheless, the GAO is recommending that:
• The Secretary of Labor direct the Assistant Secretary for OSHA, working together with the Commissioner of Labor Statistics as appropriate, to develop and implement a cost-effective method for gathering more complete data on MSDs.
• The Secretary of Labor direct the Assistant Secretary for OSHA and the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to study how they could regularly gather data on injury and illness rates among sanitation workers in the meat and poultry industry.
• The Secretary of Health and Human Services direct the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to have NIOSH conduct a study of the injuries and illnesses these workers experience, including their causes and how they are reported. Given the challenges to gaining access to this population, NIOSH may want to coordinate with OSHA to develop ways to initiate this study.