U.S.A: ANOTHER 16-YEAR-OLD KILLED AT WORK

A teenager has died while conducting sanitation operations at a Hattiesburg poultry processing plant. A Forrest County Deputy Coroner reported the employee, identified as a 16-year-old Hispanic male from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘Sanitizing operations’ in a poultry plant is highly dangerous work, entailing the cleaning of blood and remains from machinery that is all too often not turned off or locked out. Shockingly, this is at least the third incident where a 16-year-old has been killed while on the job in recent weeks.

High school student Will Hampton was fatally crushed when he became pinned between a tractor and its trailer at Lees Summit Resource and Recovery Park in Missouri.

And just two weeks ago, 16-year-old Michael Schuls lost his life in a sawmill in Florence, Wisconsin, attempting to unjam a wood-stacking machine when he became ensnared.

In February, the New York Times published a lengthy exposé on child labour entitled ‘Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.’

The shocking report uncovered widespread exploitation of immigrant children, who are in the country without their parents, forced to work for some of the United States’ largest companies. The report highlighted the abject failure of government to provide adequate oversight and enforcement and protect these vulnerable young people.

Source: Confined Space

Share Tweet

RELATED

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE INGESTION IN THE WORKPLACE
Oral exposure to hazardous substances is not often addressed during risk assessments, but a new review and analysis highlights that it may be relevant in many workplaces.
Read More
MUA AND ITF CONDEMN DETENTION AND ASSAULT OF SEIU’S DAVID HUERTA IN L.A.
MUA STATEMENT: The MUA, alongside over 700 global transport trade unions that make up the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), condemn the violent assault and detention of SEIU Local USWW President David...
Read More
$15K FINE FOR APPRENTICE FALL
In yet another example of employers putting apprentices at risk of falls, Elotan Pty Ltd (trading as CBH Roofing) has been convicted and fined $15,000 after an apprentice plumber sustained multiple broken...
Read More