NITE Alert_70

1. Outline of incidents

There were 2 incidents this year in which children's fingers were severed by paper shredders.

• On March 10, in the home, a child (2 years 8 months) caught both hands in a paper shredder manufactured by Iris Ohyama Inc., and lost 9 fingers when the parent left the child unsupervised.
• On July 15, in the home, a child (2 years 4 months) caught a left hand in a paper shredder manufactured by Carl Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and lost the little finger and a part of the ring finger when the parent left the child unsupervised.

Both paper shredders carried warnings on the body of the device and in the instruction manuals indicating that children should not be allowed to touch the device and that the device should not be used in the presence of children.

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2. Response taken by manufacturers

Both manufacturers, Iris Ohyama Inc. and Carl Manufacturing Co., Ltd., placed announcements in newspapers and on their websites on August 23, 2006 to alert users to the risk and implement repair and replacement measures. The models for the two companies with regards to these incidents are:

Product detail

Iris Ohyama Inc

http://www.irisohyama.co.jp/

Models:

SCA-410D, SCA-407D, SCA-415D, OF-18C, SSA-418D

Carl Mfg Co., Ltd.

http://www.carl.co.jp/

Model:

DS-4000

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3. Response by METI

Considering that similar paper shredders are imported, manufactured, or sold, METI urged JBMIA and AJSA to promptly consider measures to prevent further incidents involving children.

Fore more information;
National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE)
Product Safety Technology Center, Product Safety Investigation Division