Seven Statistics on Operating Hand and Power Tools
Workers operating hand and power tools face a wide range of potential hazards throughout the course of any given day.
- Nail guns are powerful, easy to operate and boost productivity for nailing tasks. They are also responsible for an estimated 37,000 emergency room visits each year – 68% of these involve workers and 32% involve consumers. Severe nail gun injuries have led to construction worker deaths. Fortunately, these injuries can be prevented, and more and more contractors are making changes to improve nail gun safety. Research shows that the risk of injury is twice as high using “contact” trigger nail guns compared to “sequential” trigger nail guns.
https://www.cdc.gov/features/nailgunsafety/ - Over 32,000 chainsaw injuries happen each year. A lot of these injuries occur when users fail to wear the correct protective gear. According to Anita Gambill at Stihl, one of the world’s leading chain-saw manufacturers, “Chain-saw chaps cost about as much money as one stitch in the emergency room. Unfortunately, if you have an accident with a chain saw, you’re never going to need just one stitch.” The truth is worse than you think. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average chain-saw injury requires 110 stitches.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/reviews/a3710/4286772/ - A recent study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that between 1990 and 2005, ladders sent 2.1 million people to the hospital. Ninety-seven percent of those accidents happened in “non-occupational settings”–in other words, your backyard. These numbers translate into an average of 140,000 injuries a year, or once every 3 minutes and 45 seconds–that’s more than twice as many as a table saw. The study goes on to say that the most common injuries are likely to be fractured to the legs and feet. https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/reviews/a3710/4286772/
- Circular saws have faster blades than table saws, with an outer edge spinning at about 120 mph, and they can cause some serious damage if used incorrectly or recklessly. A study in Australia’s Hazard Magazine found that of all reported saw injuries, circular saws make up the largest group at 30 percent. Of the recorded injuries, 56 percent involve DIYers, 99 percent of whom are male, with 68 percent of those blokes in the 20-to-39 age range. https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/reviews/a3710/4286772/
- Table saw accidents account for about 67,000 recorded injuries every year. While lacerations are the most common injury, around 4,000 accidents with table saws involve amputations because of direct contact with the rotating blade. The medical costs for treating table saw injuries have been estimated at more than $2.1 BILLION EVERY YEAR. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System says, of the 720,000 injuries in Canada associated with woodworking each year, 42 percent happened at the table saw. Five percent of these patients required hospitalization.
https://www.ohiovalleypilawyers.com/table-saw/
https://canadianhomeworkshop.com/1481/tips-tools/stationary-power-tools/the-essential-guide-to-using-your-tablesaw-safely - Every time you start your mower, you are dealing with a dangerous and potentially deadly piece of equipment. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics are shocking: Each year, 800 children are run over by riding mowers or small tractors and more than 600 of those incidents result in amputation; 75 people are killed, and 20,000 injured; one in five deaths involves a child. For children under age 10, major limb loss is most commonly caused by lawnmowers. In Canada, 1161 patients with 1451 injuries were presented between 14 and 16 hospitals across Canada, between 1990 and 2006. Especially shocking is that a total of 48 percent of the patients were 15 years old and younger. This is a high number considering that children should not even be in the yard when it is being mowed.
https://canadasafetycouncil.org/campaigns/dont-get-mowed-down-how-avoid-lawn-mower-injuries
https://www.amputee-coalition.org/lawn-mower-accidents-cause-needless-amputations/ - Compared to chain saws, drills seem downright friendly, yet they put 5,800 people a year in the ER. In one particularly horrible incident, a 25-year-old man fell from a ladder while using a drill to install lights for a New Year’s Day celebration. The spinning bit entered through his jaw and skull bones and tore up an artery. He died after inhaling blood.
Workers operating hand and power tools face a wide range of potential hazards throughout the course of any given day. Without the proper training and maintenance, they are at risk of injuries resulting from lacerations, flying objects, harmful dust, electrical accidents, and more.