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- Title:
- Injuries at a Metal Foundry as a Function of Job Classification, Length of Employment and Drug Screening
- Author(s):
- Dell, T.; Berkhout, J.
- Source:
- Journal of Safety Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, pages 9-14, 13 references
| NIOSHTIC Control Number: |
NIOSH-00242007 |
- NIOSHTIC Descriptor(s):
- JSFRAV // Foundry workers // Metal refining // Foundries // Steel foundries // Accident analysis // Accident prevention // Statistical analysis // Eye injuries // Metal dusts
- Abstract:
- The structure of accidents at a metal foundry were analyzed. A history of all accidents from 1980 through 1995 was available for study. Most jobs and workstations were the same in 1995 as they had been 20 years earlier. The foundry recorded 846 accidents during this time period, or 75.5 per 100 workers per year. These accidents caused 2,251 lost work days due to injury, or an annual average of 201 lost days per 100 workers at the foundry. The study population included the 610 individuals employed during this time period. Of this group, 311 had one or more injuries recorded on their personal files. The employees were classified into grinders, hot metal workers, molders, coremakers, movers, and detailers. The percentage of workers in each of these six categories who escaped injury altogether while working at the foundry were 50%, 59%, 23%, 62%, 33%, and 47%, respectively. Several workstations were identified as being particularly dangerous. These included the grinding stations where workers used both hand held grinders and stationary grinding wheels to remove excess metal, resulting in many eye injuries; the despru line where shaking and chipping were used to remove excess metal from castings; the pallet line where tubs filled with molds were pushed on tracks; and the shake out area where used molds were broken up and discarded. Injuries were more frequent among novices than experienced personnel. Drug screening interventions were initiated during the period of time covered in this review. Preemployment drug testing has not had any effect on accident rate while post accident testing did seem to have some effect.
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©2005 Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety 