OSHA Fines Poultry Processor $39K After Finger Amputation

The Selbyville, DE poultry processing facility of Mountaire Farms Inc. was issued five serious safety violations on Dec. 2 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after the agency investigated the amputation of a worker’s finger during the operation of a packaging machine in June, OSHA said in a press release issued Monday.

During OSHA’s inspection of the facility beginning June 3, 2016, the agency found violations related to electrical and process safety management hazards and shortcomings in the company’s procedures to prevent accidental machine start up or movement (lockout/tagout) that contributed to the worker’s amputated finger.

OSHA also found that the company exposed its employees to musculoskeletal stressors as workers were required to perform repetitive, forceful motions, often in awkward positions, during tasks. The agency said it issued a hazard alert letter on the company’s medical management practices in place at the facility that prevented “appropriate standards of care,” increase the likelihood that workers will develop musculoskeletal disorders, restrict referrals to doctors, and dissuade workers from reporting symptoms and injuries.

“The combination of musculoskeletal stressors and inappropriate medical management practices at the Selbyville processing facility is harming workers, who are exposed to completely preventable injuries,” said a statement by Erin Peterson, area director of OSHA’s Wilmington, DE-area office. “Musculoskeletal stressors remain prevalent in the poultry industry and employers must abate those hazards to protect the safety and health of their employees.”

The agency issued another hazard letter warning about the firm’s storage of incompatible chemicals. The agency is proposing $39.762 in fines.

Mountaire Farms Inc. has 15 business days from the receipt of the citations to comply with the penalty, request a conference with an OSHA area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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