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North Carolina for pork; and Northwest Arkansas for poultry. Although major areas of beef, pork and poultry production
working in a meat or poultry plant. Their accounts of life in the factories graphically explain those injuries. Automated lines
NEARLY EVERY WORKER INTERVIEWED FOR THIS REPORT BORE PHYSICAL SIGNS OF A SERIOUS INJURY SUFFERED FROM WORKING IN A MEAT OR POULTRY PLANT.
often forced to work long overtime hours under pain of dismissal if they refuse. Almost every worker began with the story
of a serious injury he or she suffered in a meat or poultry plant, injuries reflected in their scars, swellings, rashes, amputations, blindness or other afflictions. At least they survived.
exist in other parts of the United States, these three locations were selected for the geographic diversity among them and their reflection of each of the three major product segments in the industry.
carrying dead animals and their parts for disassembly move too fast for worker safety. Repeating thousands of cutting motions during each work shift puts enormous traumatic stress on workers' hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and backs. They often work in close quarters creating additional dangers for themselves and co-workers. They often receive little training and are not always given the safety equipment they need. They are
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On 9 October 2003, thirtyone-year-old Jason Kelly was repairing leaks in a 'hydrolyser equipment used to process chicken feathers to make a
pet-food additive at Tyson Foods' River Valley animal feed plant in Texarkana, Texas. The hydrolyser was leaking hydrogen sulphide, a poisonous gas created by decaying organic matter According to an OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration) investigator's report, Tyson did not give Kelly respiratory gear to guard against inhalation of the poison, failed to label hazardous chemicals and failed to train workers how to detect those chemicals in
Working in the meat packing or poultry processing industry is notoriously dangerous. Nearly every worker interviewed for this report bore physical signs of a serious injury suffered from
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