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The National Consumers League is urging the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to require table saws to be made more safely after a recent report found that table saw injuries have been increasing steadily over the past decade to about 40,000 a year.
“Table saws present an unacceptable risk of severe injury,” said Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg said. “Each year, tens of thousands of people are brutally injured by table saws – including 4,000 amputations – at a cost of more than $2 billion a year to treat victims. This is a major public health and safety issue that cries out for a public policy response.”
The National Consumers League posted a collection of stories about table saw victims, including some graphic images, to its website.
Greenberg said table saws have not been updated for safety in decades.
“The vast majority of table saw manufacturers haven’t changed their technology in 50 years, despite the 40,000 injuries each year,” she said. “Current safety technology basically consists of plastic guards, which are usually removed because they make it difficult to use the saws effectively.”
Greenberg said technology exists that stops a blade in a fraction of second upon contact with flesh. The technology would cost an estimated $100 more per unit.
The National Consumers League cited a study that of table saw accident victims that said the mean financial loss was nearly $31,000 per injury.
“We are urging CPSC to begin the process to set a national safety standard for table saws,” said Greenberg. “The standard should require industry to adopt current technology or develop new technology to prevent grave injuries and amputations from table saws.
“Each day we wait for CPSC to act, 10 new amputations occur,” said Greenberg. “We’re throwing away 4,000 fingers each year when safer-saw technology exists. The time for action is now.”
