According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Meat and poultry slaughter and processing is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States.”[1] The U.S. Dept of Labor also acknowledges that “there are many serious safety and health hazards in the meat packing industry.”[2]
U.S. Government Accountability Office (2017) Workplace Safety and Health: Better Outreach, Collaboration, and Information Needed to Help Protect Workers at Meat and Poultry Plants, Report 18-12, GAO Highlights.
U.S. Dept of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Safety and Health Topics, Meatpacking, https://www.osha.gov/meatpacking
Fast, repetitive, and strenuous work. Handling large live animals /heavy carcasses. Dangerous machinery including saws and cutting machines. Working with knives and scissors. Slippery floors due to water, blood, and fat. Close proximity of workers. Extreme temperatures. High noise levels. Hazardous chemicals including antibacterials. Biological hazards from animals, blood, feces, and meat.[1-3]
U.S. Dept of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Safety and Health Topics, Meatpacking. https://www.osha.gov/meatpacking
U.S. Government Accountability Office (2016) Workplace Safety and Health: Additional Data Needed to Address Continued Hazards in the Meat and Poultry Industry, Report 15-337, p. 1.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (2005) Workplace Safety and Health: Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry, While Improving, Could Be Further Strengthened, GAO-05-96, p. 3.
The BLS reports that in 2023, there were 13,500 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses (designated as recordable cases) for workers in the livestock slaughter and processing industry.[1]
U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Number of cases – detailed industry level 2023 (Table 2) https://www.bls.gov/iif/nonfatal-injuries-and-illnesses-tables.htm#interactive
The incidence rates (of total recordable cases) in 2023 for workers in the livestock slaughter and processing industry were broken down as follows:
Based on the numbers of workers in each category, the weighted average incidence rate was 4.4 per 100 workers.[1]
U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Incidence rates – detailed industry level 2023 (Table 1).) [Number of workers in each sector, see, Slaughter and Processing Worker Totals]
The 2023 weighted average injuries and illnesses incidence rate of 4.4 per 100 livestock slaughter and processing workers was significantly more that the rate of 2.7 per 100 workers in all goods-producing industries.[1]
U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Incidence rates – detailed industry level 2023 (Table 1)
An injury or illness case that is “recordable” is one that results in: Death. Loss of consciousness. Days away from work. Restricted work activity or job transfer. Medical treatment beyond first aid. Significant work-related injuries or illnesses that are diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional.[1]
Additional criteria that can result in a recordable case include contamination from another person’s blood or other infectious material, tuberculosis infection, and hearing loss. Naturally, not all recordable injuries are recorded. They may be unreported by employees or unrecorded by employers and thus are not counted in the BLS statistics.[2]
U.S. BLS (2023) Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, BLS OSH Definitions. https://www.bls.gov/iif/definitions/occupational-safety-and-health-definitions.htm
See, Undercounts of Injury & Illness for Animal Ag Workers
Evidence of significant underreporting of injuries and illnesses experienced by livestock slaughter and processing workers is seen in both government and independent research into the rates of injury at processing plants.
Injury and illness undercounts are understood to be pervasive throughout the industry.[5]
U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Incidence rates – detailed industry level 2023 (Table 1). [4.4% (provided as an annual rate per 100 workers) is a weighted average of injury rates across three sub-categories in the animal slaughtering and processing industries. The BLS surveys a wide range of establishments in the industry and does not communicate with employees for this annual data. For the definition of “recordable injuries” see, question above.]
USDA FSIS (January 9, 2025) Swine Processing Line Speed Evaluation Study, Harris-Adamson, C. et al., (Researchers, Univ. of California, San Francisco), pp. 5-7. [Overall, 46.1% evaluated workers were at high risk for MSDs. And 43% across all plants reported moderate to severe upper extremity pain during a 12-month period. Study involved 574 workers at 6 pig slaughter plants running intermittently at line speeds higher than regulatory maximum.]
Grant, M. P. et al., (2024) U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, CDC, NIOSH, Evaluation of Ergonomic Risks, Musculoskeletal Disorders, and Peracetic Acid Exposure Among Employees at a Pork Processing Plant in Michigan, pp. 1-3. [Report found 32% workers experienced “work-related symptoms pointing to upper body musculoskeletal disorders…” and 61% were working at or above ACGIH levels (levels above which a worker’s hand movement is considered unacceptable). Study involved 240 workers at a Michigan pig slaughter plant.]
Leibler, & Perry, M. J. (2017). Self-reported occupational injuries among industrial beef slaughterhouse workers in the Midwestern United States. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 14(1), 23–30, p. 26. [“For every worker who experienced a severe DART injury at this plant, there were more than three additional workers who experienced injuries that required treatment at the time of injury and more than eight workers with unreported, less severe injuries.” DART (days away from work) injuries are considered “recordable” by the BLS. Study involved 137 workers at a cattle slaughterhouse in Nebraska.]
See, Undercounts of Injury & Illness for Animal Ag Workers
The most frequent type of injuries to livestock slaughter and processing workers are musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). They are inflammatory and degenerative conditions affecting the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, peripheral nerves, and supporting blood vessels caused by the thousands – or even tens of thousands – of motions each shift, often requiring significant force or twisting.[1,2] “The high prevalence of injuries due to the manual nature of the work, along with the significant movement of high upper-limb and neck movements with risk exposure, can lead to lesions. This makes WRMSDs [work-related musculoskeletal disorders] a leading cause of work disability, sickness, absence from work, and overall economic loss.”[3]
A 2021 study of workers at a pig slaughter plant conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that “More than half of the job tasks we measured (61%) had hand activity levels and force at or above the ACGIH threshold limit value.”[4] A subsequent study commissioned by the USDA on the impacts of increased line speeds on workers at pig slaughtering operations found that despite the NIOSH report’s recommendations, “Our study found that 46% of workers evaluated still exceeded the PFI-TLV score of 1.0. Despite decades of best practices, many have not been implemented uniformly or comprehensively across establishments regardless of line speed.”[5]
In another study of five groups of meatpackers, the workers described common musculoskeletal pain sites, including the shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands. “Many workers reported being diagnosed with arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, and/or neuropathy. One worker stated, ‘When you are working at that pace, you do not have a way to prevent an injury.’”[6]
U.S. Government Accountability Office (2005) Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry, while Improving, Could Be further Strengthened, GAO-05-96, p. 25.
Human Rights Watch (2019) When We’re Dead and Buried, Our Bones Will Keep Hurting: Workers’ Rights Under Threat in US Meat and Poultry Plants, p. 33.
Villalobos, A. & Mac Cawley, A. (2022). Prediction of slaughterhouse workers’ RULA scores and knife edge using low-cost inertial measurement sensor units and machine learning algorithms. Applied Ergonomics, 98, 103556–103556, p. 1.
Grant, M.P., et al, (2024) Evaluation of Ergonomic Risks, Musculoskeletal Disorders, and Peracetic Acid Exposure Among Employees at a Pork Processing Plant in Michigan, CDC NIOSH, HHE Report No. 2021-0117-3397, p. 2. [The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists’ (ACGIH) guidelines set limits for hand activity levels, above which is considered unacceptable.]
USDA FSIS (January 9, 2025) Swine Processing Line Speed Evaluation Study, Harris-Adamson, C. et al., (Researchers, Univ. of California, San Francisco), p. 81. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/PULSE_SwineStudy_250109_Final.pdf [The PFI-TLV is an assessment tool, which is used to evaluate ergonomic risks associated with hand and wrist musculoskeletal disorders in occupational settings. High risk for developing MSDs or other injuries is 0.78 (above TLV). See, ACGIH Threshold Limit Value for Hand Activity Level.]
Ramos, A. et al., (2021). Health and Well-Being of Hispanic/Latino Meatpacking Workers in Nebraska: An Application of the Health Belief Model. Workplace Health & Safety, 69(12), 564–572, p. 566. https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799211016907
Several studies in the general population have found that musculoskeletal pain and/or conditions are associated with depression, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It is believed this is due to pain-induced physical limitations and psychological distress that lead to physical inactivity, as well as chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, both of which are risk factors for heart attack and stroke.[1-3]
In one study of Hispanic/Latino meatpackers, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was nearly three times higher than that of the overall Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S.[4]
Rowland, S. et al., (2021). Musculoskeletal Pain and Cardiovascular Risk in Hispanic/Latino Meatpacking Workers. Workplace Health & Safety, 69(12), 556–563, p. 556.
Ramos, A. et al., (2021). Health and Well-Being of Hispanic/Latino Meatpacking Workers in Nebraska: An Application of the Health Belief Model. Workplace Health & Safety, 69(12), 564–572, p. 565.
Oliveira, C. B. et al., (2020). Co-occurrence of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.), 21(6), 1106–1121.
Rowland, S. et al., p. 559.
Cuts and lacerations from working with knives and saw at a rapid pace. In 2021-2022 (the most recent years for which the BLS provides injury rates by selected events or exposures), the incidence rate for cuts, lacerations, and punctures in animal (except poultry) slaughtering (NAICS 311611) was 17.6 per 10,000 workers compared to an average of 11.6 per 10,000 workers for all goods producing industries.[1]
In 2023, federal OSHA received 108 reports of severe injuries, defined as an amputation, in-patient hospitalization, or loss of an eye. Of those, 56 were categorized as amputations, defined as complete or partial loss of a finger.[2] Not all serious injuries are reported to federal OSHA. The agency has authorized 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to operate their own occupational safety and health agencies. These state plans must be at least as effective as federal OSHA, but “OSHA does not currently publish severe injury report data from State Plans.”[3]
Infections of cuts and lacerations may occur due to the damp working environment, contamination from animal-borne pathogens, and working in crowded conditions on the line. In a five-year study of 3 large pork slaughterhouses, the highest proportion of infected lacerations occurred in workers on the kill floor (where animals are bled out and eviscerated).[4]
Most lacerations are associated with tool sharpening and equipment malfunction. Also cited is an unusual work method to accomplish a task, often due to malfunctioning or unfamiliar equipment. And central to many of these injuries is having to rush to keep up with line speed.[5,6]
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Case circumstances and worker characteristics for injuries and illnesses involving days away from work – 2020, Table R5 (Detailed industry by selected events or exposures)
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Severe Injury Reports. [Data sets for 2023 using NAICS codes: 311611 “animal (except poultry) slaughtering;” 311612 “meat processed from carcasses;” and 311613 “rendering and meat byproduct processing”]
Severe Injury Reports. https://www.osha.gov/severe-injury-reports [“These data will be updated periodically and represent incidents under federal OSHA jurisdiction only. They do not include incidents under state plan state jurisdiction.”]
Kyeremateng-Amoah, E. et al., (2014). Laceration injuries and infections among workers in the poultry processing and pork meatpacking industries. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 57(6), 669–682, p. 675.
Lander, R. et al., (2012). A case-crossover study of laceration injuries in pork processing. Occupational and Environmental Medicine (London, England), 69(6), 410–416.
See, Line Speed Impacts on Slaughter & Processing Workers
Workers are exposed to pathogens in animals prior to and during slaughter. OSHA states that of greatest concern are bacteria, viruses and associate toxins that are resistant to antibiotics, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).[1] Studies have found that antimicrobial-resistant bacteria carried by slaughterhouse workers (and their household members) were resistant to more classes of antibiotics than the bacteria carried by their neighbors.[2,3]
Animal pathogens can also cause skin infections, gastrointestinal infections (vomiting and diarrhea) and sometimes more serious infections such as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.[4]
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Safety and Health Topics, Meatpacking Hazards and Solutions https://www.osha.gov/meatpacking/hazards-solutions
You, S. et al., (2018). Genomic differences between nasal Staphylococcus aureus from hog slaughterhouse workers and their communities. PloS One, 13(3), e0193820–.
Neyra, F. et al., (2014). Multidrug-resistant and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in hog slaughter and processing plant workers and their community in North Carolina (USA). Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(5), 471–477.
OSHA, Safety and Health Topics, Meatpacking Hazards and Solutions.