High Rate of Table Saw Injuries Require New Standards: CPSC Votes

A high rate of personal injury accidents involving table saws have led federal product safety regulators to begin looking at new mandatory safety requirements for the devices. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously last week to begin looking at new potential table saw safety requirements.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said that the commission was taking action because the power tool industry failed to rise to her call last year to put into place voluntary standards that would reduce the risk of table saw injuries.

According to a press release (pdf)  by Tenenbaum, there are about 67,300 table saw injuries annually, based on 2007 and 2008 numbers. The injuries cost a total of about $2.36 billion per year. About 3,000 people a year have a finger amputated.

“I want to emphasize that the injuries resulting from the use of table saws, are, in many cases, particularly gruesome,” Tenenbaum stated. “Very serious injuries, including fractures and avulsions, as well as amputations, have changed the lives of tens of thousands of consumers and impacted their families forever.”

The CPSC attempted to enact new rules in 2006, but that attempt stalled, and in 2010 Tenenbaum asked the power tool industry to develop its own, new, table saw standards.

Power tool manufacturers say that most of the safety measures would raise the price of table saws significantly and in some cases may quadruple the cost of the tools. They also say that the safety features already standard on most table saws should provide adequate protection.

The most likely technology to be considered as a new standard for table saws is called SawStop. This feature senses when the saw is too close to a human finger and automatically shuts down the blade. The blade has a sensor system similar to technology used in touch lamps that detects electrical conductivity of the human body. At the slightest touch of human flesh, it instantly slams the table saw shut, which typically destroys the table saw due to the speed at which the device shuts down. At most, the victim would receive a slight nick from contact with the blades.

Last week, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a $1.5 million verdict in a table saw lawsuit, based on allegations that manufacturer was liable for failing to include an automatic instant braking technology.