LEXINGTON, Ky. — A former worker at Louisville's JBS Swift pork processing plant is using social media to expose what he describes as dangerous working conditions, including broken equipment, overflowing animal waste and insufficient ventilation that makes breathing difficult.

According to a report from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, David Olmos Herrera has posted graphic videos and images on Instagram documenting conditions inside the facility in Butchertown. Sentient Media, a nonprofit news outlet focused on factory farming, investigated Herrera's account and verified its authenticity through analysis of raw footage, locations and timestamps.

Herrera describes the work environment as increasingly unsanitary when equipment malfunctions. "Pig heads start just falling on the floor and piling up to the point that you can't even walk through," he recounted in accounts of his experience. He noted that the plant processes around 10,000 pigs daily, and according to his testimony, production continues even when critical equipment breaks down, causing animal parts and fluids to accumulate on floors and conveyor systems.

Herrera worked at the Louisville facility from 2006 to 2023, initially in the cutting room before moving to equipment maintenance and eventually becoming a supervisor in the rendering department. He says his supervisors asked him to use his personal phone to document broken equipment to avoid visiting the area themselves.

Jessica Scott-Reid, a reporter for Sentient, noted that slaughterhouse work ranks among the most dangerous jobs in America and globally. USDA research indicates that approximately 46 percent of pork processing workers face high injury risk from repetitive, high-speed tasks that can cause chronic pain and long-term disabilities.

The Louisville plant has faced persistent community pushback over odors emanating from the facility. In 2017, the city reached a settlement with JBS over repeated odor complaints dating back to 2011, requiring the company to pay $124,500 in fines. However, the city's odor regulators recorded at least 600 complaints between 2019 and 2025. The facility was evacuated in 2023 due to an ammonia leak and in 2024 due to a sodium bisulfite leak.

JBS representatives stated that the Louisville facility "operates under strict safety, sanitation, and compliance standards," and that the conditions Herrera documented were "prior to subsequent operational improvements." The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service confirmed that inspectors are onsite during all hours of operation. Butchertown, located just east of downtown Louisville, has experienced rapid revitalization in recent years with new restaurants, distilleries and cultural attractions, contrasting sharply with the industrial presence of the plant.