Examination of physical risk factors in the livestock sector from an occupational health and safety perspective: A case study of The Meat and Milk Institution General Directorate, Bingöl Meat Prosessing Plant Directorate

The livestock sector, which plays a key role in adequate and balanced nutrition, is worthy of examination from an occupational health and safety perspective, as it not only meets people's needs for animal-based food but also creates employment opportunities. The livestock sector provides a wide range of employment opportunities, both in food production activities and in the livestock by-product industry. Meeting our animal-based nutritional needs throughout our lives depends on the uninterrupted continuity of the sector. Workplace accidents and occupational diseases in the livestock sector disrupt this continuity while also causing material and moral losses. Physical risks are among the primary causes of occupational accidents and occupational diseases. Identifying physical risks and taking the necessary precautions will help significantly reduce the rate of occupational accidents and occupational diseases. To this end, various studies are necessary in workplaces and institutions. In this study, physical risk factors in the livestock sector were examined from an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) perspective. To this end, ambient measurements of noise, humidity, temperature, and illumination were conducted at The Meat and Milk Institution General Directorate, Bingöl Meat Processing Plant Directorate, which was selected as the application site, and the results were evaluated. In addition, a general risk assessment was carried out using the Fine–Kinney method based on on-site observations. The risk assessment identified a total of 260 hazards: 88 in the very high risk category, 130 high, 31 significant, and 11 possible. Based on the findings, recommendations were presented for occupational health and safety measures that should be taken into account in the livestock sector, based on both the physical risks measured and the data obtained in the overall risk assessment