Introduction According to the Human Rights Watch, “the meat packing industry is considered as the most dangerous job factory job in America.” (Human Rights Watch, 2005). People employed in slaughterhouses are exposed many types of hazards on a daily basis that can jeopardize their health. Since the 1900s, there has been a significant incline in the demand for meat within the United States, which requires more people to work in production. (2013). A majority of these employees are classified as being a minority, having low socioeconomic status, and living in poverty. The conditions of these slaughterhouses are hazardous and dangerous and many employees are prone to exposure to more diseases due to the high rate of unsanitary factors such as animal bodily fluid on floors, hooks, walls, and tools. Injuries often occur in this work environment are due to quick speeds of the process lines and the amount of time employees are given to slaughter each animal. (Food Empowerment Project, 2014). These employees are also vastly underpaid. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In May 2012, the median annual wage for slaughterers and meat packers was $24,330. The median annual wage for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers was $22,830 in May 2012.” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). These people endanger their lives every day due to the high volume of work, extended hours, and contact with biological, physical, and chemical agents. This environmental injustice raises a problem because many people are exposed to severe injuries and many diseases and some supervisors do not always report injuries. In addition, employees do not report injuries do to the fact that many slaughterhouses operated with “at will” laws which allows management to fire employees without any notice or warning. (Food Empowerment Project, 2014). The focus of this analysis is to identify specific agents that raise dangers as well as identify why this injustice is a major problem.

UNIT ANALYSIS

Slaughterhouses are places where food animals or livestock such as cattle, sheep poultry, and swine are euthanized for food consumption. (Wade, 2004). This analysis is to indulge in the injustices in meat processing industries in the South that pose threats to the safety of employees and hazardous exposures that exploit health disparities. During the nineteenth century, slaughter houses emerged during Industrialization. (Wade, 2004). Many of these slaughterhouses posed many questions and concerns due to the high exposure to diseases and work conditions for employees. These agents pertain to this environmental injustice are the physical, biological, and chemical exposures. The main agents that are exposed to slaughterhouse workers are disinfectants, zoonosis contracted by contact with animal bodily fluid. I believe that slaughter house conditions are an environmental injustice because it exposes worker to unsafe conditions and poses diseases after chronic exposures.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS OF CONCERN
The sources of the environmental hazards that arise in slaughterhouse are through bodily fluids and preparation of raw meat, dangerous machinery and tools, and chemicals in disinfectants. The exposure occurs when workers are in contact with these agents for short or excessive amounts of time in order to produce acute or chronic health effects.
The daily duties of a meat packing employee would be receiving and stunning livestock, slicing through major veins within the animals neck, splitting, cutting, and sorting through sections of carcasses, removing bones, grinding meat, and packaging meat. (Slaughterer and Meat Packer Job Description, 2013). These duties can prone risks because they are all done by the rate of the increased line speeds. Even though an ample amount of time has passed in the development of slaughterhouses, technology has increase but manual work is still critical in the processing of meat. This involves many tools that can be hazardous if used improperly as well as hooks used to hang the animals while cleaning procedures are taking place.
ROUTES OF EXPOSURE
The routes of exposure from a toxicology perspective would include ingestions through the mouth, inhalation of the lungs, and dermal contact. (CHEMM, 2011). For slaughter house workers, each of these routes of exposures are exhausted in this work atmosphere. Slaughterhouse workers have dermal contact with animal bodily fluids such as feces and blood that piles up on equipment and the floor. These fluids can come in contact with hands, hair, nails, and nasal cavities. If employees do not follow proper protocol, such as wearing personal protective equipment then skin can be contaminated. In an epidemiologic study, Brucellosis cases were discovered in the United States within slaughterhouses. According to the CDC, “Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. People can get the disease when they are in contact with infected animals or animal products contaminated with the bacteria. Animals that are most commonly infected include sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, and dogs, among others.” (Center for Disease Control, 2012). According to Buchanan, “Spink discovered that 2000-6000 cases of brucellosis occurred each year in the United States where slaughterhouse workers had direct skin contact with freshly killed animals. There was an outbreak in 1960 where half of the cases that were reported were of those who were employed at slaughterhouses. He discovered that they cause of exposure was inhalation and dermal contact.” (Buchanan, T., Hendricks, S., Patton, C., & Feldman, R. (1974). Chemicals such as ammonia that occurs in the gaseous state are used in refrigeration units located inside slaughter houses after the carcasses have been cleaned can cause inhalation exposure. Ammonia and Carbon Dioxide high exposure can cause respiratory irritations, chronic headaches, bronchitis, and some cases of pneumonia. (Center for Disease Control, 2012).
PHYSICAL AGENTS
While on the clock, many employees are exposed to many physical agents that can have a negative effect on health. There are many tools such as knives, cutters, and cleavers that can cause injury an employee is not paying attention. Some factors that play into these work related injuries include the fast paced, overcrowding work stations and the rate of speed of the line itself. According to the Human Watch Report, “The line is so fast there is no time to sharpen the knife. The knife gets dull and you have to cut harder. That’s when it really starts to hurt, and that’s when you cut yourself”. (Human Rights Watch, 2005). Employers strategically plan to produce the most sufficient product in the shortest about of time. Line speed and dangerous machinery is a direct correlation between exhaustion and work related injuries. Repetitive motions that are required on an assembly line based job can create many physical problems on the body. “Many workers suffer from stress on neck, back, and hands from repetitive motions and over use of these part.” (Slaughterhouse Workers | Food Empowerment Project (2014). When employees repeat the same motions with their hands, they put strain on their risks that can have long term effects. Carpel tunnel conditions are prevalent in many slaughterhouse workers. In a cohort study, “1141 slaughterhouse employees participated and it was shown that there were increased numbers of workers who developed carpel tunnel in their dominant hand in workers that work mainly in deboning meat as well as those who didn’t. The end result of this study was the high pace and physical manual labor increases risks for carpel tunnel.” (Frost, 1998). This also goes hand and hand with working long eight hour shifts along with overtime. When workers are tired, then they tend to be more careless around these machines and sharp objects. Many accidents that occur at work are not properly documented or not documented at all. In a 2005 report, “the Government Accountability Office described the threats to meat and poultry industry workers, who deal with “hazardous conditions involving loud noise, sharp tools, and dangerous machinery. Many workers must stand for long periods of time wielding knives and hooks to slaughter or process meat on a production line that moves very quickly.”(Food Empowerment Project, 2014).
Noise is another physical agent that has negative effect. If employees are exposed to chronic noise, it can potentially cause some irreversible damage. Long durations of exposure can result in permanent and irreversible damage. (Health and Safety Guidance Notes for the Meat Industry, 2014). According to the Health and Safety Guidance Notes, “Common causes of noise are splitting saws, frozen meat choppers, bowl choppers, de-hairing machines, and vacuum packing equipment. Many workers have to talk loudly and yell to be heard. (Health and Safety Guidance Notes for The Meat Industry. 2014, February 1).
BIOLOGICAL AGENTS AND EFFECTS
Biological agents that can be harmful in this type of environment can include the transfer of disease through bodily fluid such as animal feces, liquid waste and blood. Exposure to these biological agents can make employees sick if they are not using proper decontamination methods. “Pathogens in the food preparation area can originate from infected food workers, raw foods, or other environmental sources. These pathogens can then spread within food preparation or processing facilities through sometimes complex pathways and may infect one or more workers or the consumer of foods processed or prepared by these infected workers.” (Todd, E., Grieg, J., Bartleson, C., & Michaels, B., 2009).
When these chemicals enter into the body through different routes of exposure such as inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact they are distributed into the blood stream and some are stored within adipose tissue. Inhalation of the chemical compounds used in disinfection is distributed into the blood stream and carried into the brain that can cause immediate effect or long term damage. Food borne illnesses that are zoonotic that can be passed from animals to humans. When employees do not follow proper protocol, many employees can contract food borne illnesses. E. Coli and Salmonella, which is a bacterium, can cause autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, kidney diseases, as well as some other chronic illnesses. “Slaughterhouse workers are liable to infections from animals they handle. Illnesses in slaughterhouse workers maybe first manifestation of a previously unrecognized disease” (Zoonosis of slaughterhouse workers. (1992). When these bacterium enter the body, they travel into the intestine. In 1985, there was an outbreak of Q fever among slaughterhouses workers in California. Q fever is caused by bacteria and can be found in the fluids and feces of livestock. (Center for Disease Control, 2013). According to the CDC, five cases of hepatitis were reported to the Solano County (California) Health Department in 1985 among workers at a local meatpacking plant that processes sheep. Illnesses were characterized by fever, malaise, myalgias, severe headache, and abdominal pain, but no jaundice. Symptoms lasted at least 1 week, then gradually resolved.” (Center for Disease Control, 1985). These bacterium can be transmitted from the fluids on the table. These agents can be eliminated in the body through the urine or feces depending on the half-life of these toxicants. In some cases, vomiting will release some of the toxicants ingested.
PHYSIOLOGICAL ENDPOINTS
After continuous exposures to both biological and physical agents, chronic effects take a toll on health of those exposed. Some of the infections that are common infections found in employees in slaughterhouses are Q fever, and Tuberculosis pneumonia. (Respiratory Epidemiology, 2014) “In early 2008, for example, an unknown neurological illness began afflicting employees at a factory run by Quality Pork Processors in Minnesota, which slaughters 1,900 pigs a day. The diseased workers suffered burning sensations and numbness as well as weakness in the arms and legs. All the victims worked at or near the “head table,” using compressed air to dislodge pigs’ brains from their skulls. Inhalation of microscopic pieces of pig brain is suspected to have caused the illness.” (Imhoff, D., Tompkins, D., & Carra, R. 2013, January 1)
Exhaustion of workers due to long shifts and some mandatory overtime can weaken workers immune systems. For example the exposure of these chemicals such as ammonia used in the slaughterhouses can burn the digestive tract as well as can result in extreme coughing. Many of the long term physiological effects are musculoskeletal disorders that are induced due to repetitive stress and improper posture that prevent some employees from coming to work. (CITE) Respiratory issues worsen due chronic exposure. This can result in difficulty breathing and conditions related closely to asthma. Some cancers are possible due to a combination of chemical and biological exposures. Sometimes a specific disease or diagnosis is not pin pointed, but workers display the same symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, pain, and sometimes numb tingling feeling in the upper and lower extremities.
ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE INDICATORS THAT APPLY TO THIS CASE
The working conditions and health of employees in slaughterhouses are the primary focus of this environmental injustice. “The meat industry and slaughterhouse workers are predominately people of color living in low- income communities. There are more than 500,000 workers within the United States that are employed in slaughterhouses.”(William, 2010). The demographics of that make up slaughterhouse work are usually those with low social economic statuses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014), the minimum required education to work in slaughterhouses is a high school diploma. This means that there is a higher rate of those who are less educated. Minorities, such as African American and Hispanics dominate the slaughterhouse industry. According to Linda Ray, the demographics of races that make up the slaughterhouse industry are 4.1 percent are of Asian descent, and 12.7 % are of African American decent. She also states that there have been an influx of immigrants who have contributed to the higher percentages of the minority total. (LINDA RAY, 2014) Other factors include undocumented employees who come into the country looking for work. “An unknown percentage of workers are undocumented. Many employers knowingly hire undocumented workers in an effort to satisfy the extremely high turnover rate of the industry, which often exceeds 100% annually.” (Workplace Safety and Health, 2005). Immigrants who do not speak great English are targeted to often in this work environment due to fear of being terminated, languages barriers, as well being subjected to intimidating tactics such as threating to be deported. According to Pellow, “There is a disproportionate impact of occupational hazards on the poor and workers of color.” Since there are so many poor minorities that make up the composition of the slaughterhouse business, there is a higher risk of them being exposed to injuries than those of their Caucasian counterparts who work in safer work environments.

STAKE HOLDERS
In Pellow’s analysis, he identified the environmental injustices and racisms in the garbage systems in Chicago. The work conditions that employees of the meat packing industry endure on a daily basis can describe a direct correlation to the Garbage Wars theories. According to Pellow, “The importance of the history of environmental racism and the processes by which it unfolds” (Pellow, 2004). Environmental justice activists consider the environment as a place where “we live, work and play, and go to school. They act to right the wrongs of environmental racism, which is typically due to the intended or unintended consequences of regulations that maybe be selectively enforced or not enforced at all, resulting in negative impacts on people of color.” (2014). In regards to this issue, work environments of employees of the meat packing industry. This issue mainly arose in the nineteenth century when influxes of people flooded the Midwest to look cheap labor jobs. The apparent injustice over the last hundred years has been the dangerous work environments that have injured many employees throughout the country and the targeted populations tend to be those who are minorities and have low socioeconomic statuses. The workers have a direct correlation to the public in regards to public health because they are the initial parties that handles meat in its most vulnerable state. Many of these employees are factors of this injustice and may not be aware of the importance of this issue. The stakeholders in the meat packing industry that should be used to study this injustice would be the owners of the slaughterhouses, US meat processing industry, the supplies, investors, the public and the government agencies such as and Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
According to Pellow’s frame work, he described “The multiple stakeholders in these conflicts” (Pellow, 2004, pg 7). The meat industry is very influential in the lives of many populations. The meat packing industry is beneficial to the economy due to the amount of revenue it receives. “In 2010, more than 487,600 workers were employed in the meat and poultry packing and processing industries. Their combined salaries total more than $19 billion. Through its production and distribution linkages, the meat and poultry industry impacts firms in all 509 sectors of the U.S. economy, in every state and every congressional district in the country.” (The United States Meat Industry at a Glance. (2014).” There are about 12 companies that control beef, pork, and chicken processing (slaughter). The top four companies of the meat industry include Tyson, Smithfield Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, and the National Beef Packing Company. These companies should be included in studying these matters because these workers are the ones that are producing their product. If they cared more about the safety and welfare of their employees, there would not be so many occupational injuries and illnesses. In some ways, it seems as though they should care more because if more workers are sick due to work related illnesses, then people do not show up for work. This industry is already victim to a low turnover rates. When workers do not show up for work it shows down production and the businesses lose money as a result. When these companies lose money, then the result can be bad news for the supplier and investors that spend money to keep this business prominent. The overall goal is to make money is the primary focus and this type of selfishness overlooks the ones that are really the victims in this situation. The roles of many stakeholders can bring out tensions if then end result is not desirable and in the favor of the business. The public is a stakeholder in this issue because ultimately they are creating the demand for this product. The majority of diets consists of meat and businesses are supplied meat to support the demand of consumers. If the public understood the severity of this job, they would reconsider ways to help make these jobs safer.
In regards to the hazardous work environments of these slaughterhouses, there are many organizations and stakeholders that can have a positive effect on making work environments less dangerous as well as making the results of the environment do not have negative impacts on the community. Many of the stakeholders in this operation are driven by making a profitable margin. Supervisors in charge of hiring new employees, strategically target immigrants that are willing to work for low wages (cite). As result, it makes it harder for others to earn higher wages if others are willing to work for much less. (Cite) It is important to advocate for the rights of these workers especially since it is difficult to keep employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is known widely as a government agency that regulates the protection of workers in the work environment. OSHA should definitely be made more aware of such dangerous work conditions such as fast paced line speeds as well as reports that go completely unfiled by supervisors. OSHA should design a system where employees are protected by these harsh agents and dangerous environments. Many employees are intimidated by higher management that they do no report injuries due to the possibility of being terminated. Many of these companies do not report injuries and illnesses and proper paper work is “falsely” recorded. There should be mandated laws set in place that allows OSHA to be able to spot check at any point in time unannounced that allows them to specifically check for any employees mistreatments as well as penalize employees if there suspected or found guilty of not reporting injuries as well as using intimidation tactics Workers’ safety and rights in the slaughterhouse business should be regulated more closely and policies should be adjusted. Labor unions that rally for the rights of workers would be another group that could help to address this issue for potential risks. Pellow states that “the exclusion of the poor and people of color from environmental decision making.”(2004). Unions give workers a voice in this injustice since they have little to no say in how things are rule in this industry.
The final piece to Pellow’s frame from of this environmental injustice is, “The effects of social stratification by race and class” Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy according to Education Portal. Demographics in slaughterhouses are separated by social status, class, and even race. During the Stock Yard era the industry relied heavily on a workforce or immigrants, racial/ethnic minorities, and women. There was a subsequent shift in the workforce composition and by the mid-20th century the majority of slaughterhouse workers were white men. Since that time there has been another shift as the industry has increasingly recruited women and racial/ethnic minorities. (Benson 1994). Racial and ethnic minorities are now dominating the industry. As stated earlier, many people who are poor are subjected to these jobs due to lack of education and the industries need for cheap labor. Populations of high classes tend to be more educated and have a wider variety of options of employment than those with little opportunity.