Two amputations a week: the cost of working in a US meat plant

As unions warn of serious injuries, plans to take speed limits off the lines at pig plants are causing anxietyAmputations, fractured fingers, second-degree burns and head trauma are just some of the serious injuries suffered by US meat plant workers every week, according to data seen by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.US meat workers are already three times more likely to suffer serious injury than the average American worker, and pork and beef workers nearly seven times more likely to suffer repetitive strain injuries. And some fear that plans to remove speed restrictions on pig processing lines - currently being debated by the government - will only make the work more difficult. Continue reading...