Workplace Safety and Health: Additional Data Needed to Address Continued Hazards in the Meat and Poultry Industry
Highlights
What GAO Found
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, according to Department of Labor (DOL) data (see figure), yet hazardous conditions remain. The rates declined from an estimated 9.8 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2004 to 5.7 in 2013. However, these rates continued to be higher than rates for manufacturing overall. Meat workers sustained a higher estimated rate of injuries and illnesses than poultry workers, according to 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.
Injury and Illness Rates among Workers in the Meat and Poultry Industry, Compared with Rates in All U.S. Manufacturing, Calendar Years 2004 through 2013
Note: The meat and poultry industry refers to the animal slaughtering and processing industry, North American Industry Classification System code 31161, which includes animal (except poultry) slaughtering, meat processed from carcasses, rendering and meat byproduct processing, and poultry processing including slaughter.
DOL faces challenges gathering data on injury and illness rates for meat and poultry workers because of underreporting and inadequate data collection. For example, workers may underreport injuries and illnesses because they fear losing their jobs, and employers may underreport because of concerns about potential costs. Another data gathering challenge is that DOL only collects detailed data for those injuries and illnesses that result in a worker having to take days away from work. These detailed data 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.
Why GAO Did This Study
DOL is responsible for gathering data on workplace injuries and illnesses, including those in the meat and poultry industry, where workers may experience injuries and illnesses such as sprains, cuts, burns, amputations, repetitive motion injuries, and skin disorders. GAO was asked to examine developments since its 2005 report, which found this industry was one of the most hazardous in the United States and that DOL data on worker injuries and illnesses may not be accurate, and recommended that DOL improve its data collection.
This report (1) describes what is known about injuries, illnesses, and hazards in the meat and poultry industry since GAO last reported, and (2) examines DOL's challenges gathering injury and illness data in this industry. GAO analyzed DOL data from 2004 through 2015, including injury and illness data through 2013, the most recent data available, and examined academic and government studies and evaluations on injuries and illnesses. GAO interviewed DOL and other federal officials, worker advocates, industry officials, and workers, and visited six meat and poultry plants selected for a mix of species and states. The information gathered in these visits is not generalizable to all plants or workers.
Recommendations
GAO is making three recommendations, including that DOL improve its data on musculoskeletal disorders and sanitation workers in the meat and poultry industry. DOL, USDA, and CDC concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Labor | To strengthen DOL's efforts to ensure employers protect the safety and health of workers at meat and poultry plants, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, working together with the Commissioner of Labor Statistics as appropriate, to develop and implement a cost-effective method for gathering more complete data on musculoskeletal disorders. |
DOL generally agreed with this recommendation and stated that its implementation would make a difference in working conditions in the meat and poultry industry. The agency also noted that resource constraints may make it difficult to implement. The final rule on Improving Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses was published in July 2023. Under this rule, according to DOL, OSHA will begin collecting case-specific information beginning January 2, 2024 from establishments with 100 or more employees in the Animal Slaughtering And Processing industry and other high-hazard industries. The case-specific information included on OSHA Forms 300 and 301 includes responses to questions such as "What was the employee doing just before the incident occurred?" and "Tell us how the injury occurred." According to DOL, by analyzing the responses to these questions, OSHA will obtain a more complete picture of MSDs at meat and poultry plants. While this proposed rule would provide OSHA with additional information on injuries and illnesses in some high-hazard industries, it is not clear how OSHA will be able to cost-effectively identify MSDs on the forms that companies send them. As stated in the recommendation, OSHA may want to work with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop and implement this method.
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| Department of Labor | To develop a better understanding of meat and poultry sanitation workers' injuries and illnesses, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health 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. |
DOL generally agreed with this recommendation and stated that its implementation would make a difference in working conditions in the meat and poultry industry. With the publication of the Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Final Rule (88 FR 47254) July 21, 2023, OSHA has a new source of information about injuries and illnesses experienced by sanitation workers in the meat and poultry industry. Specifically, OSHA will have access to OSHA Form 300 Log and Form 301 Incident Report data that are electronically submitted by establishments with 100 or more employees in NAICS 3116 Animal Slaughtering and Processing. OSHA will also continue to be able to analyze form 300A annual summary data--which includes information about injury/illness rates, severity, and certain types of illnesses/injuries--on illnesses and injuries experienced by sanitation workers at establishments with 20 or more employees. For contracted sanitation companies that provide day-to-day supervision for their employees at meat and poultry plants, OSHA will use the submitted OSHA Form 300A annual summary data to match locations for sanitation companies and meat or poultry plants and obtain summary information about injuries and illnesses experienced by sanitation workers at these plants. if the meat or poultry plant provides day-to-day supervision for the sanitation company's employees, then plant will record the sanitation company's employees' work-related injuries and illnesses, and submit information from those records to OSHA. For meat and poultry plants with 20-99 employees that provide day-to-day supervision for the sanitation company's employees, OSHA will be able to obtain information about the sanitation company's employees from the meat or poultry plant's submitted Form 300A Annual Summary, as discussed above. In addition, for meat or poultry plants with 100 or more employees that provide day-to-day supervision for the sanitation company's employees, OSHA will also be able to obtain case-specific information from the meat or poultry plant's Form 300 Log and Form 301 Incident Report. We will monitor the progress of these data collection efforts.
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| Department of Health and Human Services | To develop a better understanding of meat and poultry sanitation workers' injuries and illnesses, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should direct the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to have the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (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 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop ways to initiate this study. |
HHS concurred with this recommendation and noted the previous difficulties NIOSH has had gaining access to these workplaces and the potential resource commitment involved in conducting such a study. We acknowledge this access challenge and noted in our report that OSHA has negotiated access for NIOSH in other industries, hence the rationale for recommending that NIOSH may want to coordinate with OSHA. In February 2020, NIOSH reported it met with industry associations to discuss areas of mutual interest for research on worker safety in poultry plants. However, according to NIOSH, the advent of COVID-19 and its challenges have limited plans for field studies for FY20. During the COVID-19 epidemic NIOSH informed us that, as of March 2021, its representatives have: (1) created COVID-19 safety guidelines with OSHA and (2) performed more than 30 meat and poultry worksite evaluations focusing on the prevention of COVID-19. NIOSH notes that it continues to have an interest in learning more about and providing assistance to minimize various types of illnesses and injuries that may affect meat and poultry sanitation workers, and at some point in the future they hope to "re-initiate" their interactions with stakeholders such as the National Chicken Council and US Egg & Poultry Association on the study of peracetic acid exposure in the poultry processing industry. In November 2021, NIOSH reported that it has continued to update peracetic acid (PAA) industry partners on the activities surrounding lab and field work on assessing worker exposures; and made progress on the development of two field portable PAA air sampling methods. However, field study activities are on hold due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and personnel assignments in key roles on the CDC COVID response. The PAA field study protocol will be updated to include COVID-19 precautions and an amendment will be submitted to the NIOSH Institutional Review Board for approval prior to re-initiating activities. Our recommendation was aimed at increasing the understanding of the various types of illnesses and injuries that are common among meat and poultry sanitation workers, including their causes and how they are reported. As of July 2023, we await more information on future studies that address this topic.
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