Verification diagnostic and surveillance of occupational health in a municipal abbatoir in the north of Mexico

Introduction
Cattle slaughter in the country in accordance with the law must be done in authorized abattoirs and they must be supervised by the sanitary authority and complying with the valid regulations. Mexico has 2435 municipalities in 32 States. According to the Comerce and Industrial Development Ministry there are 1061 municipal abbatoirs and 54 of the denominated FIP (Federal Inspection Type) abbatoirs. INEGI registers state that in 2010 2809604 bovine cattle heads were slaughtered, equivalent to 681000 meat tons with a value of 21360 million pesos. The objective of the present study was to know the level of effectiveness in complying to occupational health regulations in a municipal abbatoir, as well as identifying the risk conditions and the labor demands.

Methods
The Model of Verification and Diagnostic of occupational health in the Company was used, composed of a general company information document, occupational health complex diagrams and verification questionary of ten chapters with 668 questions.

Results
The reconstruction of the complex health diagrams allowed identifying the risks and demands in the process. Mechanical risks were evident (falls, bruises, wounds, from insecure conditions), as well as physical (raised or diminished temperatures) and ergonomical (uncomfortable postures and efforts, repetitive and inadequate movements, handling of heavy loads). The percentage of total efficacy was only 15% considered as “null”. The verification chapters with the bigger percentage were: Induction and training with 47.2%, preliminar company evaluation 28.9%, hygiene and security 24.5%.

Discussion
The work process in abbatoirs involves a series of risks and demands with potential damage to the worker’s health. Applying valid safety and health regulations is required as well as making the directive leadership conscious of such necessity.