Federal workplace records show that during the first nine months of 2015, “workers in meatpacking plants owned by Tyson Foods averaged at least one amputation a month,” says Harvest Public Media. It credits George Washington University occupational health professor Celeste Monforton for getting the data through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Monforton says on her blog that a new regulation requires companies to report injuries promptly to OSHA and that she chose a large packing company to see the practical effect of the rule. Harvest Public Media quotes Monforton as writing, “Skinners. Band saws. Wing saws. Hide grippers. The names of these tools tell just part of the story of why these amputations occurred.” Most of the amputation occurred at beef plants. Tyson Foods announced a new workplace safety program last year, says Harvest Public Media. It said the material given to Monforton was far more recent than usually appears in Labor Department websites.