Tyson Foods faces 17 OSHA violations and fines of $263,498

Tyson Foods is again under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration after inspectors found 15 serious violations and two repeat offenses that could result in fines of $263,498, according to the OSHA report.

Federal inspectors began the investigation into safety protocol at a Center, Texas, chicken processing plant after a worker had a finger amputated in a conveyor belt located in the deboning area of the plant. Springdale-based Tyson Foods released the following statement about the accident.

“We never want to see anyone hurt on the job, which is why we’re committed to continual improvement in our workplace safety efforts. We fully cooperated with OSHA’s inspection of our Center plant and intend to meet with OSHA officials in an effort to resolve these claims. Our company employs almost 500 health and safety professionals who are involved in such areas as safety training, safety audits, ergonomics and health care. We also have programs and policies to help protect our employees.”

The OSHA report indicates there were 15 serious violations including failure to ensure proper safety guards on moving machine parts. Other issues in the report include: carbon dioxide levels in the plant that are above the permissible exposure limit and not training employees on hazards acid use and there were also slip-and-fall hazards noted in the report.