What are the sources of amputations

in the workplace?

Amputations are some of the most serious and

debilitating workplace injuries. They are

widespread and involve a variety of activities and

equipment. Amputations occur most often when

workers operate unguarded or inadequately

safeguarded mechanical power presses, power

press brakes, powered and non-powered

conveyors, printing presses, roll-forming and rollbending machines, food slicers, meat grinders,

meat-cutting band saws, drill presses, and milling

machines as well as shears, grinders, and

slitters. These injuries also happen during

materials handling activities and when using

forklifts and doors as well as trash compactors

and powered and non-powered hand tools.

Besides normal operation, the following activities

involving stationary machines also expose

workers to potential amputation hazards: settingup, threading, preparing, adjusting, cleaning,

lubricating, and maintaining machines as well as

clearing jams.

What types of machine components

are hazardous?

The following types of mechanical components

present amputation hazards:

■ Point of operation—the area of a machine

where it performs work on material.

■ Power-transmission apparatuses—

flywheels, pulleys, belts, chains, couplings,

spindles, cams, and gears in addition to

connecting rods and other machine

components that transmit energy.

■ Other moving parts—machine components

that move during machine operation such as

reciprocating, rotating, and transverse moving

parts as well as auxiliary machine parts.

What kinds of mechanical motion are

hazardous?

All mechanical motion is potentially hazardous.

In addition to in-running nip points (“pinch

points”)—which occur when two parts move

together and at least one moves in a rotary or

circular motion that gears, rollers, belt drives,

and pulleys generate—the following are the most

common types of hazardous mechanical motion:

■ Rotating—circular movement of couplings,

cams, clutches, flywheels, and spindles as well

as shaft ends and rotating collars that may grip

clothing or otherwise force a body part into a

dangerous location.

■ Reciprocating—back-and-forth or up-anddown action that may strike or entrap a worker

between a moving part and a fixed object.

■ Transversing—movement in a straight,

continuous line that may strike or catch a

worker in a pinch or shear point created

between the moving part and a fixed object.

■ Cutting—action generated during sawing,

boring, drilling, milling, slicing, and slitting.

■ Punching—motion resulting when a machine

moves a slide (ram) to stamp or blank metal or

other material.

■ Shearing—movement of a powered slide or

knife during metal trimming or shearing.

■ Bending—action occurring when power is

applied to a slide to draw or form metal or

other materials.

Are there any OSHA standards that

cover amputation hazards in the

workplace?

Yes. The Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) has the following

standards in Title 29 of the Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR) to protect workers from

amputations in the workplace:

■ 29 CFR Part 1910 Subparts O and P cover

machinery and machine guarding.

■ 29 CFR 1926 Subpart I covers hand tools and

powered tools.

■ 29 CFR Part 1928 Subpart D covers

agricultural equipment.

■ 29 CFR Part 1915 Subparts C, H, and J;

29 CFR Part 1917 Subparts B, C, and G; and

29 CFR Part 1918 Subparts F, G, and H cover

maritime operations.
U.S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

2002

What can employers do to help

protect workers from amputations?

You should be able to recognize, identify,

manage, and control amputation hazards

commonly found in the workplace such as those

caused by mechanical components of machinery,

the mechanical motion that occurs in or near

these components, and the activities that workers

perform during mechanical operation.

Work practices, employee training, and

administrative controls can help prevent and

control amputation hazards. Machine

safeguarding with the following equipment is the

best way to control amputations caused by

stationary machinery:

■ Guards provide physical barriers that prevent

access to hazardous areas. They should be

secure and strong, and workers should not be

able to bypass, remove, or tamper with them.

Guards should not obstruct the operator’s view

or prevent employees from working.

■ Devices help prevent contact with points of

operation and may replace or supplement

guards. Devices can interrupt the normal cycle

of the machine when the operator’s hands are

at the point of operation, prevent the operator

from reaching into the point of operation, or

withdraw the operator’s hands if they approach

the point of operation when the machine cycles.

They must allow safe lubrication and

maintenance and not create hazards or

interfere with normal machine operation.

In addition, they should be secure, tamperresistant, and durable.

You are responsible for safeguarding machines

and should consider this need when purchasing

machinery. New machinery is usually available

with safeguards installed by the manufacturer.

You can also purchase appropriate safeguards

separately or build them in-house.

Are certain jobs particularly

hazardous for some employees?

Yes. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the

Secretary of Labor has designated certain nonfarm jobs as especially hazardous for employees

under the age of 18. These workers generally are

prohibited from operating band saws, circular

saws, guillotine shears, punching and shearing

machines, meatpacking or meat-processing

machines, paper products machines,

woodworking machines, metal-forming machines,

and meat slicers.

How can I get more information?

You can find more information about

amputations, including the full text of OSHA’s

standards, on OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov.

In addition, publications explaining the subject of

amputations in greater detail are available from

OSHA. Concepts and Techniques of Machine

Safeguarding (OSHA 3067) and Control of

Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) (OSHA

3120) are available on OSHA’s website. For

other information about machine guarding see

http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/

machineguarding/index.html.

A Guide for Protecting Workers from

Woodworking Hazards (OSHA 3157) is available

either on OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov or

from the Superintendent of Documents,

P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954,

or phone (202) 512-1800, or online at

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/index.html.

To file a complaint by phone, report an

emergency, or get OSHA advice, assistance, or

products, contact your nearest OSHA office

under the “U.S. Department of Labor” listing in

your phone book, or call us toll-free at

(800) 321-OSHA (6742); teletypewriter (TTY)

number is (877) 889-5627. To file a complaint

online or obtain more information on OSHA

federal and state programs, visit OSHA’s website

at www.osha.gov.

This is one in a series of informational fact sheets highlighting OSHA programs, policies, or standards. It does not impose

any new compliance requirements or carry the force of legal opinion. For compliance requirements of OSHA standards or

regulations, refer to Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This information will be made available to sensory-impaired

individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 693-1999. See also OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov.