TYSON PREPARED FOODS, INC.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, TYSON PREPARED FOODS, INC. — a meat processed from carcasses facility located at 1 ROCK RIVER ROAD, JEFFERSON, WI 53549 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 21 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $26,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2010-10-29.

The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 3.3 per 100 full-time workers — 22% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 2.3 per 100,000 workers.

EPA Environmental Record: The EPA shows no current violations for this facility. regulated under: Clean Water Act, RCRA Hazardous Waste. Source: EPA ECHO database.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $26,000.00 is more than 3.0× the national average of $8,527.19 for facilities in the Manufacturing sector (NAICS 311612). This sector encompasses 24,420 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $208.2M.

State Context: Within WI, this facility's penalty places it at the 98th percentile among 43,331 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,505.68.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 21 citations spanning 7 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 6 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 8 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 1 unclassified — A technical violation that does not fit neatly into the standard classification categories.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning November 2, 2005 with the latest abatement deadline set for April 11, 2011. Of the 21 total citations, 12 (57%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, suggesting partial progress toward required corrective actions.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $26,000.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $1,238.10 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement profile for this Tyson Prepared Foods facility reveals a concentrated failure in Process Safety Management (PSM) and mechanical safeguarding, indicative of systemic rather than isolated operational lapses. The citation cluster under 1910.119—specifically regarding process safety information (D03) and operating procedures (F01)—points to a fundamental breakdown in the facility’s ability to manage highly hazardous chemicals, likely anhydrous ammonia common in industrial refrigeration. For workers, these technical deficiencies translate to an increased risk of catastrophic release, as the facility failed to maintain accurate equipment specifications and standardized emergency shutdown protocols. The simultaneous presence of multiple 1910.212 and 1910.219 violations further suggests a pervasive culture of non-compliance regarding physical hazards; the lack of point-of-operation guarding and protection from rotating parts exposes employees to severe amputation and entanglement risks. While the individual penalties are moderate for the meat processing industry, the high gravity ratings (up to 10) on walking-working surface violations and machine guarding indicate that inspectors identified immediate threats to life and limb. The recurring nature of 1910.151(c) violations regarding medical services and eyewash stations underscores a secondary failure in emergency preparedness. Collectively, this record depicts a facility where administrative controls for high-hazard processes and physical engineering controls for machinery were neglected concurrently, necessitating a comprehensive overhaul of the site’s safety management system.