Fairchild Commissary Cited Over Chemicals Meatcutters File Grievance Because Of Disinfectant Exposure

For the second year in a row, federal safety inspectors have cited the Fairchild Air Force Base commissary for mishandling chemicals in the meat department.

Base officials say they’ve corrected the problems at the commissary, which sells meat to military personnel and retirees in the Spokane area.

But several Fairchild meatcutters say their health may have been harmed by improper use of the disinfectants.

“We have been continuously exposed to hazardous toxic chemicals used to clean up the meat department. This has been going on for years,” said Dwight Henderson, chief steward in Local 11 of the National Federation of Federal Employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration notified the Fairchild commissary of the latest violation - failure to label a chemical cleaner - on Aug. 21.

OSHA cited the commissary last year for several “serious” violations, including having no written program advising workers of chemical hazards, failing to maintain required documents on the chemicals, and having no training program on how to use the chemicals.

Fairchild is cooperating with the workplace safety agency, said Dean Ikeda, OSHA area director in Bellevue.

This year’s violation was “a very minor finding and was corrected on the spot,” said Sam Cagle, spokesman for the regional Defense Commissary Agency at Fort Lewis, Wash.

But several current and retired meatcutters are worried their health may be suffering from sloppy handling of chemicals used to clean work areas. They support a grievance filed by Henderson asking for higher hazard pay for working around toxic materials.

Heavy toxic exposure to the meatcutters is unlikely because the cleanup work is contracted out, Cagle said.

J-80, the main cleaner used, is a U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved product used in commissaries and meat departments worldwide. “It’s like a household cleaner,” Cagle said.

The meatcutters’ exposure “would be limited to skin irritation” from occasionally using or contacting the cleaners, Cagle said.

But for 10 years, the meatcutters did the cleanup themselves with a variety of highly corrosive cleaners, said James Scherr, a former meatcutter.

“We would put chemicals in hot water for cleanup and mix bleach and other chemicals. We would breathe these fumes,” said Scherr, who said he developed stomach pains, breathing problems and cancer.

The cleaners are foam disinfectants sprayed daily on meatcutting equipment to decontaminate bacteria on blades, grinders, meat racks and tables.

The foam corroded meat racks, was left overnight on meatcutting tables and may have harmed workers, Henderson said.

In May, Fairchild meat department manager Robert Clute denied Henderson’s request for hazard pay, saying the chemicals aren’t hazardous when properly used.

Henderson filed a grievance with the Department of Defense. In support of that action, several of the Spokane meatcutters have signed statements claiming the cleaners made them sick, and that they should have received better training and protection.

“Management never told us anything about hazardous toxic chemicals prior to Jan. 1, 1994,” after the OSHA inspection, said Henderson and meatcutters Greg Gilstrap, Marshall Munson and Sylvia Best in an Aug. 2 affidavit.

Others have joined in the effort, including Vernon Stiles, a meatcutter for 21 years.

“When I would report to work in the mornings I would get headaches, irritated eyes, nausea, shortness of breath, irritated skin, heartburn,” Stiles said.

While at work in 1988, Stiles developed severe hives, according to his medical records. He retired in 1993 on a medical disability after developing heart disease.

The cleaning solutions used in the meat department can be hazardous, according to the product labels.

The handling instructions for J-80, used to sanitize meatcutting and food preparation areas, warns: “Do not get in eyes, on skin or on clothing. Harmful if swallowed. Avoid contamination of food. Avoid inhalation of spray mist.”

“You wouldn’t want to breathe a lot of this stuff, and you wouldn’t want chemical contamination of raw meat,” Ikeda said.

Fairchild’s biohazard team inspected the meat department this summer and concluded J-80 wasn’t harmful if used according to directions, Cagle said.

Any residue on the meat tables “should not be a health problem either,” he said.

, DataTimes