American Notes: Job Safety

It came too late for the 25 workers who died in a fire last September at the poultry-processing plant in Hamlet, N.C., owned by Imperial Food Products. But last week U.S. Labor Secretary Lynn Martin gave North Carolina 90 days to strengthen its laggard factory-inspection program -- or the Federal Government will take it over. North Carolina and 22 other states run their own occupational-safety plans, with federal approval. But the understaffed state labor department never sent any of its 27 inspectors to the Hamlet plant in its 11 years of operation. On Dec. 31, the state fined Imperial $808,150 for safety hazards at the plant, including padlocked exit doors. No criminal charges have been filed.

The need for regular safety inspections was reinforced last week when a blaze broke out at the Pilgrim's Pride chicken-processing plant in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Like the Hamlet fire, the one in Texas started with a malfunctioning hydraulic line. Twenty-one workers were injured, but this time, luckily, no one was killed.