I am starting this thread because I have heard it said many times and refuted.
I was very recently given a job at a vegetable production plant. You know, packaged salads and many other items done the same. I assure you, I will never look at those items without guilt, remorse and fear again.
The place that employed me was, I would say; at lease 98% hispanic. Very few oriental and I counted six whites, and I think one black lady.
It is a job that is so physically challenging and chemically unsafe, it is just scary. I worked there two days. I have a big lump on the right side of my wrist that is keeping me from moving it to the right and it is so swollen. It was around 45 to 50 degrees on a constant with huge fans blowing the cold wet air through you. We had to dress in two coats at least, with head warmers and three pairs of gloves to TRY and keep our hands warm while handling all those cold wet veggies. We had to wear ear plugs, smocks and a helmet. And still froze to death.
These veggies had to be kept disinfected at all times. Chlorine was used to wash and while the veggies were mixed and the chemical foams were all over the floor and blowing in our eyes. I have never seen so many red eyes in my life. Very few smiles and so many cold bodies, feet hurting and backs hurting, freezing fingers and feet. One break in a nine hour shift! They work lots of overtime. It is mandatory. Sometimes 12 to 16 hour days with maybe two breaks.
This place uses these chemicals: Chlorine-200 ppm, household bleach is 6 ppm. A chemical that I cannot find; Tsunami 200 ppm. Two kinds of Quat Ammonia; 200 ppm, 400 ppm, and 800 ppm.
These chemicals are used in the same enclosed sanitized refrigerated room where all the production workers work. These chemicals are bad enough by themselves, but mixed in the air?? There was a fine mist in the air of chlorine at all times. We were breathing it! Wearing it, our eyes were in terrible shape. I also found out that these chemicals when mixed with organics become even more dangerous. They make other gasses.
My eyes were so bad, red swollen, swells on top of swells. I am not kidding. They felt like I had broken glass in them. My last day was Thursday, I am just now feeling normal again. I told them I was going home. I almost couldn't see to drive home. I had so many people worried about me.
My point is this. I met some very sweet, hard working people that can't get employed anywhere else there. Non english people trying to make a living just like me, with no option of quitting. They were so friendly and and just loving. Mostly women. Young women and women from treatment centers, with no choice but to work there. Women who may be or can get pregnant.
I feel really bad that these people who have to work there. I feel like there ought to be something I can do to help them. I am worried for all those unsuspecting people, putting their health on the line to make 7.00 an hour.
The only reasone there are white people there is because they have felonies! No one will hire them. They do not tell us that if you get a felony that our right to work is out the window. Bull sh-t! That is wrong. But, even more wrong; is that these hispanic people are at risk and have no option for other jobs to be able to live. I got close to these people. Language barrier or none. We found a way. I find myself thinking about them all the time.
Kat

Contact OSHA. They will do an unannounced inspection for workplace hazazds.

Wouldn't you think that OSHA would already know about it? I mean they are pretty stickler about cleanliness. The place I worked I mean. Me and someone else talked about them already. I mean they are really clean!
You know; I never once, saw anyone from the front area come in there.
I wonder what would happen to those people working there if they were closed down by anyone? I just worry.
Kat

OSHA is for the protection of the workers.

I find this a bit hard to swallow since the mixing of Ammonia and Chlorine produces Nitrogen Trichloride gas which is not only extremely explosive it is also extremely toxic or even lethal to breathe. (NFPA 491M Manual of Hazardous Chemical Reactions). There has been more than one housewife who has poured blech and ammonia into the toilet to clean it and either been axphixated by the fumes or flipped the light switch, created a spark and went butt first through the wall. I just checked the NIOSH pocket guide to chemical hazards and Chlorine is Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) at 10 ppm and Ammonia is IDLH at 300 ppm. The exposure limits for ammonia in the work place atmosphere are 50 PPM (OHSA) and for Chlorine the limit is .5ppm (C) that is a ceiling limit that is not to be exceeded even momentarily per NIOSH. That is the National Institue for Occupational Safety and Health, the parent institute of OSHA.

If there is indeed a problem with a hazardous atmosphere in the workplace by all means contact OSHA like All Smiles said they are listed in the phone book under U.S. Government, Department of Labor. They will do an immediate inspection and assess large fines for what are considered serious violations.

IT IS INDEED for real. The man that hires us told us by law he had to give us the chemical warnings we were to be exposed to. I wrote them down as this:
CHLORINE; 200PPM.
TSUNAMI ; 200PPM.(WHATEVER THIS IS)
QUAT AMMONIA 1 OR 2 OR A OR B;
;200 AND 800 PPM.
QUAT AMMONIA;" " " " " " "
;200PPM AND 400PPM
I can tell you this: My eyes are still burning. My family, all of them; told me not to go back. It is just too dangerous to breathe and get in our eyes. My cheeks right above the bone is still red, like they are sunburned.
Can you find what Tsunami is?? That is the way he spelled it.
Kat

Wow..Kat I am wow at a loss here. Let me see if I can find something on the Tsunami stuff.

Tsunami..is a sanitizer to prevent things such as Salmonella, an antimicrobial wash. A peroxyacetic acid solution.

I deal with OSHA like twice a month at UPS.

UPS is anal about its safety, so I deal with OSHA and they ask me a thousand questions a month. It's ridiculous.

I can't stay long, but I wanted to comment. I'm so happy that you were able to leave that job. On the other hand, I'm miserable that these places exist at all, in fact I not only agree with the contacting OSHA but possibly EEOC, mandatory overtime is not easy to get away with. In fact, did you AT ANY TIME, while working there see the Federal and state signs pertaining to rights of workers?

These signs by law must be posted where all employees can see them, AND, if a certain percentage of your employees speak spanish you are required to have the signs posted in both spanish and english. These signs include phone numbers to call should any of the laws be in question or if any employer is requesting something other than what the law allows.

Did they offer any kind of insurance benefits with this job? The other option is to contact the insurance company who insures these employees and explaing what is happening, the insurance will also be dropped, AND, they will probably require their own review of policy for the purpose of sueing for benefits paid due to malpractice on the part of the company.

There are several courses of action. I will be on the computer on Sunday looking up some EEOC infor for another friend. I'll email you when I get some info.

That we are all willing to help, and that you have had the experience, and have the will to make a difference, seems almost destined. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all play a part in making a difference, even for just a few hard working people.

to all - later friends

The first thing you should look at is the MSDS BOOK (material safety data sheets) every employer is suppose to have 1.This will tell you what chemicals you are dealing with,protection required when working with them and any effects from them.Then if the company is not in compliance call osha or email them.

quick addition about the mdss (material data safety sdheets..

They also have to have listed what to do in caseof an emergency with each chemical.

These sheets tell you the cheical copund of everything that is a hazard (cheically) to the huan body, what you can and cannot place by each other (for exaple certain pool products can not be stored next to each other cause they are volatile if mixed even by air), and most iportantly the mdss tells what you have to do if ana ccident happens.

And just like the federal and state papers that have to be kept posted in site of all employees, the mdss has to be accessible by all employees as well.

what you described sounds to me like more of a "sweat house" than something legit. Iw ould definitely contact osha, and the companies insurance (if they even hnave one).

Having worked in the material handling industry for MANY years, I have been to nearly every type of food processing plant there is. They are all gross but all are inspected regularly. Is that your only experience? Whoa! Try a poultry, egg, or pork processing plant. People see the pretty packaging at the store but have no idea about its journey.

Wow poet, I am impressed. I could not find it. Maybe I did not word my search right. I had another guy looking for it too. Thank you.

Red, send me all you get.

Zap. It is my first time to give this kind of work a try. I have been in a chicken plant before years ago. It sickened me. I wouldn't eat chicken after that for years. I still don't too much.
I have a friend that works in a beef plant. He has been there for about two weeks. He is a knife sharpener. He told me he was going to work for them and I told him what I had heard about them not being dead when they start to work on them. He called me later and told me I weas right. That they took him on a tour of the slaughter house. He said they use this gun type thing to hit them in the head with and immediately hoist them in the air and they are crying and then they cut them while they are crying and even after they cut parts of them off, they are still moving. Even on the ground. I told him I had to go and really did not want to hear of it again. I have not bought a piece of beef since then. I am seriously thinking of stopping with meat all together. It sickens me, the vial and horrendous ways these poor animals are treated. They should be killed clean and swift, with no fear and stress watching another of their kind being killed before their very eyes.

Kat

It is gross isn't it kat! Egg processing plants are sickening. Won't name the company but in Austin, MN pigs go in one end of the building and smoked bacon, ham, and everything else out the other. Smells like poop going in and smoked bacon going out. Kinda the reverse of us. lol