OSHA investigating Jennie-O plant where illnesses occurred

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  Andrea Gantz

  OSHA is investigating a Jennie-O Turkey Store plant, trying to determine why workers at the plant became sick.

  From WATTAgNet:
  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is working on an inspection of a Jennie-O Turkey Store processing plant in Willmar, Minnesota, where more than two dozen workers became ill on October 17.
  OSHA is presently gathering information to determine what may have caused so many people to get sick, said James Honerman, spokesman for the state's OSHA division, part of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
  "Minnesota OSHA Compliance will ... review what factors contributed to or caused the incident and then determine whether existing OSHA standards were violated," said Honerman. "The goal is to reduce hazards to workers and avoid a recurrence of similar accidents."
  The plant was evacuated after workers were displaying symptoms of illness, including coughing and vomiting. The affected employees all worked in the same area of the plant.
  Officials from Jennie-O Turkey Store and the Willmar Fire Department inspected the plant to check for any chemical leaks, but none were found. Tests to find carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and ammonia were negative.
  Honerman said OSHA would aim to close the inspection within a few months and said that if work hazards are found, citations or penalties from OSHA are possible. The plant’s last routine inspection, according to OSHA records, was conducted in February 2013 and did not yield any citations.