Gao Meat Processing

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

January 2005

Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, U.S. Senate

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry, while Improving, Could Be Further Strengthened

GAO-05-96

January 2005

WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Highlights

Highlights of GAO-05-96, a report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, U.S. Senate

Accountability Integrity Reliability

Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry, while Improving, Could Be Further Strengthened

Why GAO Did This Study

Because meatpacking is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States, we were asked to provide the Congress with information on the characteristics of workers in the meat and poultry industry and the conditions in which they work, the types of injuries and illnesses these workers incur, how injury and illness rates have changed over the past decade, and factors that may have affected these rates. We were also asked to determine what is known about the effectiveness of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) efforts to improve safety and health in the meat and poultry industries.

What GAO Found

The largest proportions of workers in the meat and poultry industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), are young, male, and/or Hispanic. Although the majority of workers are citizens, an estimated 26 percent of them are foreign-born noncitizens. They work in hazardous conditions involving loud noise, sharp tools, and dangerous machinery. Many workers must stand for long periods of time wielding knives and hooks to slaughter or process meat on a production line that moves very quickly. Workers responsible for cleaning the plant must use strong chemicals and hot pressurized water. While, according to BLS, injuries and illnesses have declined over the past decade, the meat and...