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Safety and health of meat, poultry and fish processing workers

By Shizue Tomoda

Part 11

Table 4.2.2. Eight most common injuries, the number and cost of the claims and of workdays lost in poultry abattoirs and among poultry processing workers in Queensland, Australia, 1991-92 to 1994-95

Nature of injury		1991-92							1992-93						1993-94						1994-95
		No. of claims		Cost of claims 1		Workdays lost			No. of claims		Cost of claims		Workdays lost		No. of claims		Cost of claims		Workday lost		No. of claims		Cost of claims		Workdays lost
Strains/sprains		201		522 611.39		n.a.2			210		631 285.82		n.a.		300		775 657.24		6 341		327		507 694.51		4 682
Bruises		24		12 709.61		n.a.			23		4 504.28		n.a.		30		12 587.64		107		39		30 526.53		251
Cuts		26		11 871.04		n.a.			21		25 227.47		n.a.		20		8 302.93		98		26		6 446.37		67
Lacerations		19		20 661.79		n.a.			14		3 925.15		n.a.		17		5 505.96		49		25		20 271.49		181
Carpal tunnel syndrome		7		14 106.45		n.a.			9		43 066.59		n.a.		9		96 410.93		861		16		59 974.47		544
Tendonitis		6		15 217.98		n.a.			15		24 372.95		n.a.		9		31 582.37		372		15		28 602.61		272
Fractures		6		21 518.17		n.a.			12		65 377.66		n.a.		6		28 202.21		338		12		25 628.58		289
Burns		6		1 067.97		n.a.			4		2 214.18		n.a.		11		5 529.60		33		10		4 453.25		38
Total 3		331		668 023.37		n.a.			342		818 041.53		n.a.		438		1 071 543.35		8 773		533		773 444.28		7 247
1 In Australian dollars. 2 Not available. 3 Total of all injuries and diseases reported among the poultry abattoir and poultry processing workers. These data were provided by the Division of Workers' Compensation, Department of Employment, Vocational Education, Training and Industrial Relations, Queensland, Australia.

In the poultry industry, the total number of claims rose steadily, though the total amount of compensations fell considerably in 1994-95. This was the trend observed in many types of injury listed. The cost per claim had risen sharply between 1991-92 and 1993-94, particularly as regards carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and fracture, before it came down in 1994-95. The cases of strains/sprains are again much too high, and many other injuries are on the rise.

Table 4.2.3 lists the nature of common injuries sustained by meat (including poultry) and fish processing workers in Belgium in 1994. Of the 2,219 workplace accidents reported, injuries including cuts were the most common, accounting for a little over 50 per cent of all cases. Other injuries often reported included bruises/smashings, sprains/strains, minor traumas, fractures, concussions and other internal traumas. No information was provided on the cost of these cases or the number of workdays lost.

Table 4.2.3. Occupational accidents according to the nature of injury in the meat and fish industries in Belgium, 1994

Nature of injury	Frequency	Percentage
Fractures	109	4.9
Sprains/strains	182	8.2
Bruises/smashing	377	17.0
Concussions and other internal traumas	108	4.9
Amputations	6	0.3
Minor traumas	115	5.2
Dislocations	30	1.3
Burns	51	2.3
Multiple injuries of various nature	26	1.2
Other traumas	90	4.0
Other injuries including cuts	1 122	50.6
Poisoning	1	Negl.
Exposure to radiation	2	0.1
Total	2 219	100.0
Source: Fonds voor Arbeidsongevallen (FAO), Belgium.

Table 4.2.4 lists body parts that were injured in the occupational accidents reported in Table 4.2.3. Fingers, hands, ankles/feet, forearms/wrists and eyes were most frequently injured among Belgian meat and fish processing workers in 1994. This information suggests that many of the injuries in these sectors are related to hand tools used in labour-intensive processing tasks. According to another study⁵⁴ covering the period 1989-93, cuts, sprains, twisted limbs, bruises, crushing, fractures, concussions and other internal injuries were common in slaughterhouses. In fact, cuts occurred almost five times as often as other injuries. Less common injuries included superficial traumas, amputations and burns. Of these, most injuries occurred to fingers and hands, followed by forearms/wrists, ankles/feet and the back and chest. These findings are more or less in line with the information in table 4.2.3.

The situation in poultry slaughterhouses in the same study⁵⁵ was similar, where cuts were twice as common as sprains and twisted joints, the second most common injuries. Other injuries included concussions, internal injuries, fractures, bruises and crushing. Injuries to the fingers were the most common, or three times more common than those to the ankles and feet. Other parts which were often hurt were eyes, forearms, wrists, knees, hands, and the back and chest. Injuries frequently reported in the meat and poultry sectors in Belgium are similar to those reported in Australia, and so can be considered as typical.

The Ministry of Labour in Brazil reported that a majority of accidents in the meat and poultry industries were caused by hand tools, such as knives. Although no statistics on the frequency of accidents and diseases were made available, common accidents reported in the State of Rio Grande do Sul included cuts and bruises, lumbago and musculoskeletal disorders. Repetitive strains and respiratory and skin disorders were also common diseases registered. In the State of Parana, cuts resulting in losses of three to five workdays were most frequently reported, followed by amputation of the fingers.

Table 4.2.4. Occupational accidents according to body part injured in the meat and fish industries in Belgium, 1994

Body part	Frequency	Percentage
Fingers	775	34.9
Hands (excluding fingers)	247	11.1
Ankles, feet	197	8.9
Forearms, wrists	176	7.9
Eyes (including eye sockets and optic nerves)	105	4.7
Back	92	4.1
Arms and elbows	86	3.9
Knees	79	3.6
Head	66	3.0
Bones	46	2.1
Chest	46	2.1
Shoulders	42	1.9
Thighs	29	1.3
Toes	31	1.4
Neck (cervical vertebra)	10	0.4
Abdomen	12	0.5
Hips	10	0.4
Legs	6	0.3
Head and trunk and one or two legs	6	0.3
Others	158	7.1
Total	2 219	100.0
Source: FAO, Belgium.

Table 4.2.5 presents the total number of cases and types of occupational disease reported for 1992-94 in the meat and poultry industries in France. Ailments around joints, such as tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, occur frequently. The table also indicates that meat workers face a greater risk of infectious diseases than their counterparts in the poultry industry. A majority of these cases were serious enough to prevent the victims from working for some time. The table does not show whether the number of cases increased or decreased during the period.

Table 4.2.5. Number and types of occupational disease in the meat and poultry industries in France (total number of cases in 1992, 1993 and 1994)

The frequency rates of accidents and diseases that are commonly reported and the number of workdays lost per 100 employees in the meat industry in Germany for 1989-93 are presented in table 4.2.6. According to the data, meat workers face a much higher risk of occupational diseases than accidents. Joint ailments, or musculoskeletal disorders, were also the most serious problems that resulted in losses of many more workdays than from any other ailment or accident. Other diseases frequently reported included respiratory, digestive and sensory disorders, as well as circulatory problems. Based on the number of workdays lost, respiratory, sensory and circulatory disorders followed musculoskeletal disorders in terms of seriousness.

Like table 4.2.5 on France, table 4.2.6 does not indicate any trend concerning occupational diseases and accidents in Germany during the given period. However, another set of data in the same study, from which the information in table 4.2.6 was extracted, shows the rate of occupational diseases rising among meat workers. For example, the total number of cases of diseases increased from 879 in 1991 to 1,252 in 1992, which represented an increase from 0.3 to 0.4 per cent of employees. The number of cases increased further to 1,372 in 1993, but the percentage of employees affected was not given. The percentage of workers affected by skin diseases increased from 0.16 to 0.17 from 1991 to 1992. Cases of hearing impairment due to noise also increased from 0.01 to 0.03 per cent. Again, changes from 1992 to 1993 were not provided for any diseases.

Table 4.2.6. Number of cases of frequently reported occupational diseases and accidents and of workdays lost per 100 employees in the meat processing industry in Germany, 1989-93

Disease or accident	No. of cases per 100 employees	No. of days lost per 100 employees
Disorders in respiratory organs	35.8	1 085.1
Musculoskeletal disorders	35.8	2 243.3
Disorders in digestive organs	25.4	270.1
Injuries and poisonings	14.9	286.6
Disorders in circulatory system	13.4	740.3
Disorders in nerve system and sensory organs	10.4	753.7
Occupational accidents	11.9	371.6
Infections	4.5	110.4
Metabolic disorders	4.5	71.6
Total	186.6	6 177.6
Source: K. Kuha, P. Urban and M. Starzinger: Sektorprofil Arbeitsumgebung: Fleischverarbeitende Industrie, Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz, Deutschland, 3 Mar. 1995.

⁵⁴ Karen Peirens and Marc de Greef, Institute ANPAT -- NVVA: Monitoring the work environment at sectoral level, Meat Industry, Belgium, Project No. 149, July 1994.

⁵⁵ ibid.

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