Health Hazard Evaluation Program: Evaluation of Ergonomic Risks, Musculoskeletal Disorders, and Peracetic Acid Exposure Among Employees at a Pork Processing Plant in Pennsylvania [HHE-2021-0118-3411]

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Evaluation of Ergonomic Risks, Musculoskeletal Disorders, and Peracetic Acid Exposure Among Employees at a Pork Processing Plant in Pennsylvania
• Personal Author:
  Grant, Michael P. ; Rinsky, Jessica L. ; Dunn, Kevin H.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Management of a pork processing plant requested a health hazard evaluation of ergonomics (fitting the job to the worker) and musculoskeletal disorders (injuries and illnesses of muscles, tendons, and nerves) among employees on the harvesting side of the plant. They were also concerned about employees exposure to peracetic acid, a chemical used at the plant as a disinfectant. Because the evaluation occurred during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, management also requested a review of the COVID-19 policies and procedures in place at the time of the request. The plant received live hogs and produced pork products. On the harvesting side of the plant, live hogs were received and moved through the barn until they were stunned and killed. The hogs were then suspended by their hind legs from an overhead conveyor or chain. The chain moved the hogs at a set speed through the rest of the process. Employees stationed along the line did specific tasks to eviscerate (remove internal organs) the animal and remove the head. After the head and internal organs were removed, the carcass was moved to a cooler at the end of the line. Further processing of the carcass into pork products was completed on the other side of the plant, which was outside the scope of this evaluation. We visited the workplace twice during this evaluation. At the time of our second visit in August 2022, the company planned to run the line on the harvesting side at an average speed of 1,106 hogs per hour, resulting in an estimated average of 11,000 hogs processed per day. During the visit, 201 full-time employees worked in the harvesting section, which was organized into four main work areas (barn, wet harvest, clean harvest, and offal). Employees in the barn area received live hogs and moved them through stunning. Employees in the wet and clean harvest work areas hung the hogs on the line and removed the viscera from the carcass. Employees in the offal work area prepared the head for packaging; removed, separated, and cleaned viscera; and packaged the cleaned viscera. Two shifts of employees staffed the barn. The rest of the harvesting side operated during one shift of about 8 hours. However, the actual length of each workday varied depending on the total number of hogs being processed and delays in production (for example, equipment malfunction). The plant also had employees doing further processing and sanitation (cleaning) jobs. These employees were not part of the scope of this evaluation. Further processing occurred at the same time as harvesting on the other side of the plant. These employees broke down the hogs coming out of the hog cooler into various parts for packaging and distributing. Sanitation occurred overnight throughout the plant to sanitize all work surfaces and machinery in preparation for the next shift. The evaluation of peracetic acid exposure occurred at a spray cabinet after the hogs left the hog cooler and went on for further processing. There was one employee workstation with potential for direct exposure to spray from the cabinet. This was the only location in the plant where peracetic acid was applied.
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Acetic Acid Harvesting Hog Hydrogen Peroxide Peracetic Acid Pork Slaughtering
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  54 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070974
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2025]. Evaluation of ergonomic risks, musculoskeletal disorders, and peracetic acid exposure among employees at a pork processing plant in Pennsylvania. By Grant MP, Rinsky JL Dunn KH. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2021-0118-3411, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2021-0118-3411.pdf.
• CAS Registry Number:
  Peracetic acid (CAS RN 79-21-0) ; Acetic acid (CAS RN 64-19-7) ; Hydrogen peroxide (CAS RN 7722-84-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  311611 - Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ab7e5390fb202adec8c733e01cefc3daec4addae8d5c357011b7acdccee63bdfaec602636589ea21ab9f84cec6c7670abe74a8bde5f10bbb3ec86ab25497b9aa
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/232215/cdc_232215_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.16 MB ]