Death of USDA inspector probed, chicken plant fined

Murray’s Chickens, a South Fallsburg, N.Y. chicken processor, has been fined $27,100 for failing to properly warn and train employees about the dangers of working with toxic chemicals used in the production and sanitation process.

The Washingtom Post reports that Murray’s Chickens was cited in May 2012 for several health and safety violations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The citations stem from an OSHA investigation of the plant that followed the death the prior year of a federal plant inspector, Jose Navarro. Navarro, 37, died after his lungs bled out. He worked around “hazardous chemicals” that contained both peracetic acid and bleach, OSHA records show.

“Not informing production employees that the chemical hazards they worked with exposed them to potential illness, or that the absence of machine maintenance procedures left them vulnerable to lacerations, amputations or death, is unacceptable and will be enforced to the highest extent of the law,” said Robert Kulick, the regional administrator for OSHA in New York.

Source: Washington Post

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