Abstract
Nail guns are popular construction tools that boost productivity, especially on residential construction jobs. But this comes at a cost, because these power tools play a role in 37,000 injuries a year. General contractors now have a resource to help prevent nail gun injuries and to promote nail gun safety on their jobsites. Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contractors, now available in Spanish (Seguridad con las pistolas de clavos), was jointly prepared by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Nail Gun Safety was developed at the request of OSHA's Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health, which is made up of employers, labor, state, and public representatives. Most reported nail gun accidents injure the tendons, joints, nerves, and bones of the hands and fingers. But the leg, knee, thigh, foot, and toes receive a fair share of injuries. The more serious injuries - those involving the spinal cord, head, neck, eye, internal organs, and bones - have caused paralysis, blindness, brain damage, bone fractures, and death.
