OTHER NEWS - Nov. 3, 1993

Workplace Hazards Found: A General Accounting Office inspection of eight Mexican auto parts plants, or maquiladoras, operated by U.S. manufacturers turned up “safety and health violations” at each of the plants visited but found that the hazards generally were present “in the U.S. auto parts industry as well.” The inspection was requested by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which is considering the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Exposed machine parts were the most commonly observed workplace hazard in the Mexican plants. The review also noted “ergonomic hazards related to the assembly process” that led to repetitive motion injuries.