Poultry Processing Production Worker Drowns in an Open Offal Wastewater Pit — California

Details

• Personal Author:
  Moore, David ; Zubieta, Ingrid
• Corporate Authors:
  California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (CA/FACE) ; California. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Branch
• Description:
  On May 6, 2023, a 66-year-old Hispanic male production worker at a poultry processing plant (the victim) drowned when he fell into an open offal wastewater pit. Offal is a mixture of water and chicken organs, blood, feathers, and other waste products. He was preparing to do preventative maintenance and clean the area surrounding the pit. A co-worker later found him inside the pit where he drowned. Even though hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels were not measured or monitored on the day of the incident, the gas is often present at poultry and meat processing facilities. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS - Failure to develop and implement a hydrogen sulfide (H2S) safety program for the offal wastewater room
  
  No hazard assessment was conducted
  
  Missing and unsecured floor grates protecting the offal wastewater pit
  
  Damaged guardrails around the offal wastewater pit. RECOMMENDATIONS - California FACE (CA/FACE) investigators determined that, in order to prevent similar incidents, poultry processing plants with wastewater treatment operations should: 1) Develop and implement policies, procedures, and inspections as part of a safety program to prevent workers from being overexposed to H2S. 2) Ensure offal pits are identified as permit required confined spaces and a confined space program is implemented. 3) Ensure all pumps and equipment in the pit room remain in operation so there is wastewater flow through the offal pit. 4) Ensure offal pits are guarded and covered.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Confined Spaces Drowning Food Industry Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Animal Products Workers Animal Waste Confined Spaces Fatalities Hydrogen Sulfide OSHA Region 9 Poultry Industry Waste Disposal Systems
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Confined Space ; Falls ; Hispanic
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE23CA002
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-10
• Contributor:
  Harrison, Robert ; Styles, Laura ; Shor, Glenn
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070087
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 23CA002, 2024 Jul ; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS) ; 311615 - Poultry Processing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ac048c5bb0061d9eb02aad5010ec2ad33a29fe122b8414dd5d63e54159cb62ee7be25bee802e0881106ee8ce1f08d47c59450620104982d63916e3a984c0dd4a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164824/cdc_164824_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.28 MB ]