Numerous factory workers at Quality Pork, a meat packing plant in Austin, Minn. have been affected by a painful syndrom. Each worker affected by the symptons suffered from fatigue, nerve damage, tingling in the legs and feet, and "heavy legs".
The disease can be treated but they are not sure if it will cure it. The workers have been given steriods but upon returning to work get sick again.
Doctors found in one man that his spinal cord was inflamed and his immune system was attacking his own nerves. After returning to work he became ill once again. Another worker did the same thing and finally a correlation was found.
Each person works near or at the "head table" where the hogs heads are cut off. The workers wear some protective attire but their arms are normally bare and they do not wear face shields.
Scientist found that an air compressor used at the "head table'' to extract the brains from hogs might have some signifigance. The compressor literally blows the brains out and onto nearby workers. It can enter through the eyes and mouth or even be breathed in.
Quality Pork immediatly stopped using the air compressor and found only two other plants in the country that did as well. Both plants stopped using them and one in Indiana found workers with similar symptons.
The disorder is being carefully investigated and there have not been any other cases so far. The plant still has the "head table" but hopefully without the air compressor no new diseases will be found. But their is still no answer as to exactly how people are beeing affected.
Plant owners should be more careful and have their workers protected. Its disgusting to have such a barbaric process as that, but, if their going to do it at least try and not get brain tissue on your bare arms and in your mouth.
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5 comments:
Working in a meat packing plant is a dirty job. I have seen such things on the Discovery Channel, however if a company is going to have people working in such conditions they should be able to have people fully protected.
These type of companies have no excuse for the outbreaks, but they can make changes for the future of workers health.
The first thing that comes to mind is eewww. On a serious note, I would have thought extra precaution in the form of goggles and face masks would have been taken. Anything that has expired has the potential to create and spread bacteria and disease that can do harm, and this is knowledge that I have without a college degree. With all of the different deseases and infirmities that are coming about in animals, one would think plant owners, and doctors alike, would prepare their workers for such situations.
On a different note, becoming a vegetarian has never been more appealing.
It kinda reminds me of mad cow disease in the way that it effect the nerves system. Quality Pork and any other companies should take immediate actions to protect their workers better. But the real question I have is what can the companies do to help prevent this form happening in the first place? Like what measure do they take to make the workers' enviroments safer? This topic really deserves national attention from agencies like OSHA.
Factory type work has always seemed to cause health issues. You would think that today with all of the organizations that try and protect workers from the damages that their various jobs may have they could do better to protect them from such issues.
I had the same thought as Greg when i read this - mad cow disease. After mad cow, and all the other diseases that come from animals, dead or alive, you would think that this plant would provide, and require their employees to wear full protective gear.
Also, if this brain matter just splatters about, how sure are these people that remains of this brain matter doesn't get packaged into the pork this plant ships out? Makes me almost want to stop eating pork.
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