Poultry, Swine Plants Need to Reduce Injuries Says Secretary Su
Data released on January 10 from a USDA report, Poultry Processing Line Speed Evaluation Study (PULSE), found that 81% of workers were at increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders across all establishments.
This prompted Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su to issue the following statement on January 13:
“The findings in USDA’s report on worker safety in poultry and swine plants show that injuries, including chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders are too common. These kinds of injuries often go unreported.
The study found that the increased risk of injuries created by increasing line speeds could be mitigated with other controls, specifically having more workers on the line and having effective ergonomic plans. I hope that meat and poultry companies do what is needed to make worker safety a first principle. The health of our nation depends on it.”
The research, funded by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in November 22, aimed to “assist the FSIS in assessing the relationship between evisceration line speed in young chicken and swine slaughter establishments and the scope, magnitude, and factors that influence worker safety and health risks for establishment employees impacted by the speed of the slaughter line.”
The scope of work included evaluating the impact of evisceration line speed on the risk of acute and chronic work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and antimicrobial-related respiratory exposure.
Between November 2023 and April 2024, PULSE study team enrolled 1,047 poultry processing establishment workers at eleven New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) establishments operating at evisceration line speeds between 140 and 175 birds per minute (BPM).
The study team conducted surveys and medical interviews and took measurements of ergonomic exposures and airborne peracetic acid (PAA) concentrations. Data from the surveys, interviews, and exposure measures were analyzed and the key findings were:
• Musculoskeletal disorder risk was greater among workers who worked at a higher piece rate, a job-level measure of work pace.
• For most jobs, establishments operating at higher evisceration line speeds were observed to have piece rates similar to establishments operating at lower evisceration line speeds; thus, musculoskeletal disorder risk scores were similar among workers at establishments operating over a range of evisceration line speeds.
• Models indicate that reducing piece rate, by increasing job-specific staffing or decreasing job-specific line speed, may reduce musculoskeletal disorder risk for workers.
• 40% of workers across all establishments reported experiencing moderate to severe work-related pain during the past 12 months. Such pain was not reported more frequently at establishments with higher evisceration line speeds.
• Peracetic acid (PAA) airborne exposures in one in five jobs sampled across all establishments exceeded the ACGIH Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) of 0.4 ppm.