OSHA released its annual clamshell packaging injury report today, with a dramatic rise from the previous year. As anyone familiar with clamshell packaging knows, opening them without proper care and safety equipment is a sure-fire way to end up with an injury.
NOTE: This was an April Fool’s post from 2019
Each year, millions of people receive lacerations, punctures, and even amputations when removing products from clamshell packing. The encapsulated packaging was invented back in 1978 by Tomas Jake Lunsford, a sadist. A type of blister packaging, clamshell designs started innocently enough. Soon, however, as wholesale warehouses and home improvement stores saw their value in reducing “shrinkage” (retail theft), the packaging took on a new design. Soon, clamshell packaging came completely sealed using a heat-transfer process. They require a razor blade or chainsaw for success in opening.
As OSHA began looking into injuries, it noted a clear correlation between the use of pocket knives, screwdrivers, pliers, and small explosives used by consumers to pry open these packages. OSHA regulations only approve auto-retractable utility knives for opening clamshell packaging. It falls on employers to provide proper training in the use of these tools. This includes a mandatory 3-day safety seminar that covers 37 different types of blister and clamshell packaging.
Approved auto-retractable knives for safely opening clamshell packaging:
- Wiss WKAR1 & WKAR2
- Uline H-1370
- Clauss 18966
- Klein Tools 44136
- OLFA 1077171 SK-8
- Irwin 2088600
Fines for noncompliance range from $12,500 for the first offense to more than $126,000 for repeat violations.
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