FACTS

Hazards associated with injection molding machines are crushing injuries or amputations and occur if a worker:

• Reaches into a machine for any reason.
• Reaches around, under, or over guards.
• Operates a machine with missing or inoperable guards or interlocks.
• Not used to the equipment.

Injection molding machines can cause the following:

• Eye irritation or damage.
• Breathing problems.
• Lung damage or cancer.
• Worsening of existing health problems.
• Risk of explosion or fire.

The main causes of injuries within plastic molding manufacturing are:

• Muscular stress caused by manual handling (the largest cause of all injuries in the industry)
• Slipping or tripping
• Chemical exposures
• Accidents with machinery, tools, and equipment

STATS

• 14% of all reportable accidents happened as a result of contacting moving machinery. Machine safety resulted in the largest number of enforcement notices served by HSE in plastic companies.
• According to BLS data, the rate of occupational injuries resulting in lost workdays was 21% higher for plastics processing.
• The 30 reports concerned 26 accidents and/or interventions involving plastic injection moulding machines, one accident/intervention related to a rubber injection moulding machine, one accident/intervention related to a thermoforming machine, and two others related to blow moulding machines. However, the examples presented in this section and the main topics developed therefrom relate only to injection moulding machines.