Paper Shredder - Injury Risk With Residential Use

Injury Risk With Residential Use

As with any motorized cutting equipment, there is a risk of injury. As shredders migrated to home environments with children and pets, shredder safety became an important issue. As early as 1985, personal injuries have occurred as a result of consumers operating shredders. As the number of paper shredders per household increased, so did the number of accidents. From January 2000 through September 2005, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received 50 reports of incidents involving finger amputations, lacerations, and other severe injuries from paper shredders. The majority of injuries happened to children under the age of five.

To increase consumer awareness of these potential safety hazards, two important safety alerts were issued:

• Fall 2005 – Consumer Product Safety Council Shredder Safety Alert
• February 2006 – American Academy of Pediatrics Shredder Safety Alert

Although designed with a narrow opening to the cutting wheels, shredders still pose a danger to pets and small children. Children as young as four months of age have the ability to imitate adults. As children grow older, this tendency to mimic adult behavior increases and parents might not anticipate the dangers of children accidentally activating a shredder. This puts children at risk for serious injury, even with adult supervision. Children’s fingers can easily be pulled into the paper entry through the force of the shredding mechanism.

Many new shredders on the market now feature improved safety features:

• Safety sensor – this technology ensures the shredder automatically shuts off when hands are too close to the paper entry. The sensor around the paper entry senses the electric energy field carried by humans and larger pets. When this energy field is detected, the shredder instantly shuts down. As soon as the energy field is removed, the shredder starts up again.
• Slimmer paper entry – this reduces the chance of fingers getting pulled into the shredding mechanism. The entry can also be made of an inflexible material to prevent the opening from widening under pressure.
• Safety lock – this safety feature puts the shredder into a safe, inactive mode to prevent children from activating the shredder mechanism. The adult user simply locks the activation switch in the "off" position.
• Safety flap – this flap covers cutters when the shredder head is removed from the wastebasket.
• Safety interlock switch – this switch ensures the shredder will not activate when the shredder head is removed from the wastebasket.

Many home shredders can be left in a "stand-by" mode that will start the cutting process when anything is inserted into the feed slot. In homes with small children or pets, simply keeping the shredder unplugged while not in use can also reduce any risk.