Chain Saws Voluntary Standards Are Curbing Injuries

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission safety experts today reported that industry-wide conformance with voluntary chain saw standards appears to have saved thousands of consumers from severe injury due to rotational kickback from gasoline and electric-powered chain saws.

Rotational kickback is the rapid upward and backward motion of the chain saw which can occur when the saw chain along the tip of the guide bar contacts an object, such as a log or branch.

In a public meeting with the Commissioners, Program Manager Carl Blechschmidt said safety provisions of the 1985 voluntary industry standard have been effective in reducing rotational kickback injuries with chain saws. CPSC estimated in 1985 that conformance with the chain saw voluntary standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) would reduce chain saw kickback injuries by 70 to 80 percent.

The ANSI standard, developed in cooperation with CPSC and the chain saw industry was relied upon by CPSC in 1985 rather than the continued development of a mandatory rule. Both current members of the Commission praised the success of the standard following the staff report.

Blechschmidt said each of the devices used to conform with the standard have been effective in reducing kickback injuries. Devices include chain brakes, nosetip guards, reduced kickback guide bars, and the reduced and low-kickback chains.

"Few injuries, only 6 out of 68 rotational kickback cases, were associated with saws equipped with reduced or low-kickback saw chains," he reported to Commissioners. "of these, only two involved chains identified as low-kickback, and these cases involved some form of one-handed operation, which we previously knew would not be addressed by the standard."

Previously, there were no performance standards for chain saw kickback, but in 1985 manufacturers agreed to a standard that limited kickback for saws under 3.8 cubic inch engine displacement to an angle of 45 degrees or less. Similar requirements were also established for electric chain saws. CPSC said its 1986 investigations showed virtually 100 percent compliance with the standards.

Blechschmidt said continued efforts by industry and CPSC engineers may result in extending the kickback standard to the larger gasoline chain saws, some of which are used by consumers. In that case, he said, kickback injuries among consumers would decline an additional seven percent, making the standard 77 to 87 percent effective in reducing kickback injuries.