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Have there been injuries at the mint?
CommemKing
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Just wondering if anyone has been injured at the Mint. A lot of moving parts. I'm imagining someone getting a finger pressed by a die. That would be horrible. Not injuries from falls, but some more serious stuff.
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Just wondering if anyone has been injured at the Mint. A lot of moving parts. I'm imagining someone getting a finger pressed by a die. That would be horrible.
Seeing as how workplace injuries are fairly common in many manufacturing facilities, I'd expect that the Mint facilities have their share.
Very old article but it sounds like they had quite a few injuries in just that year.
"Beckham said two fingers of a mint employee were crushed in a machine in January. Beckham also said employees had suffered from back problems and injuries sustained in falls. Employees have been injured by forklifts running into them. Welders have started fires inside the mint, and employees have been exposed to "welders flash" because of improper safety procedures, Beckham said."
Another link from the Department of Labor for all injuries and cases for 2011. A few years old but still some good information, although only for one year. It looks as though if you want to dive deeper you can find other years on the same site as well as the US Mint annual reports.
...struck through finger would make for a real life error coin
Dough if it would ever get out as cleaning up after those type of accidents is mandated by OHSA considered hazardous waste because of the blood involved. Sorry to say I had to clean up after one of those types of accidents in a manufacturing plant.
One of the earliest injuries which occurred at the Mint can be read here.
That's one of the best stories I've read here. Thanks for sharing it.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
According to reports,a nail flew off the die as a coin was being struck. A full recovery of the worker with no permanent eye damage is expected. The coin was not recovered.
The incident occurred on April 1 of this year.
Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
It appears the internet will be the death of knowledge rather than its birth.
We should also be cognizant of the fact that injuries come in many forms. Hurting your back lifting qualifies as well as an injury from a cut, wound or chemical abrasion.
As Shamika said above, you can reduce accidents significantly, but never eliminate them completely (paraphrased)
Sore back; tired feet; joint aches; strained muscles; small cuts, small splinters.
Does that count ?
I've worked in several manufacturing plants during my career and have seen some serious injuries. Some were due to poor equipment/safety designs while others were due to poor employee habits or employees trying to circumvent safety features. Most employers are VERY safety conscious so reducing the likely of accidents is always important but unfortunately they can never be eliminated without eliminating employees.
Years ago when I worked at a metal company in Houston there were frequent injuries on the production line, but the worst was someone falling off the roof and dying. Even though I worked in the finance dept I still had to be EMT certified because of the possibility of mass injuries in the plant.
At my mint:
Sore back; tired feet; joint aches; strained muscles; small cuts, small splinters.
Does that count ?
That's what happens when you Moonlight
Steve
...struck through finger would make for a real life error coin
I have a dime struck on a fingernail planchet.
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This has been quite a topic. I didn't mean the typical strained back, fall or scrape. Call me demented, but I wanted to hear of hands pressed in $20 gold coins, Arms lopped in belts, and other more gruesome injuries. There had to be some. I saw a video on PBS of a woman placing $20 gold eagle planchets in the collar for pressing. She set each planchet in the collar (my lingo may be wrong) and it pressed it several times. Her hands were around the moving press most of the time. It looked like a serious accident waiting. Sounds gruesome to have hundreds of thousands of pounds crushing an appendage. Maybe its never happened. If they are as good and quick as me there would be no problem.
It's not quite as dangerous as it looks.
There are two buttons to operate presses in most instances so there are no free ones to get inside. Sometimes fellow workers or their hands can get in though.
Obvious dangers usually aren't the ones that get you. Even if everyone is diligent there are always special events and processes that can occur in an industrial setting.
I've worked in three major manufacturing plants and had oversight for another 15 or so. Safety can never be taken for granted in any production environment. I have always thought that all accidents are preventable be it through engineering, machine guarding or human behavior. I then saw a three hundred pound woman jump off a stool and shatter her ankles. Genetics may have been at fault there. Or McDonalds.
...at 300 pounds plus on a woman...any ankle most likely would shatter everytime the said stool jump was performed...anything 220+ usually requires a nice set of cankle's for safety and stability
Just wondering if anyone has been injured at the Mint. A lot of moving parts. I'm imagining someone getting a finger pressed by a die. That would be horrible.
Seeing as how workplace injuries are fairly common in many manufacturing facilities, I'd expect that the Mint facilities have their share.
no doubts about that. its gonna happen like it or not
complete link, full story
I would bet that deaths at the Mint during the 1800's were by no means common, but they happened. working around that type of unforgivable machinery is just inherently dangerous. once a stroke starts it doesn't stop till it's complete. other than the type of stuff mentioned by Dan I would imagine carpal tunnel is a biggeee.
This has been quite a topic.
Not really.
Typical stamping press safety, whether automotive metal parts or striking a coin, uses at least, dual palm switches to roll the press over. Both hands are needed to activate the press. Other metal stamping presses, at a minimum, use light curtains that interrupt the stamping process when the machine is running automatically. Penetrate the curtain, machine stops.
fell into a 30 foot deep hole and was killed. Not exactly a coinage-related injury but
reasonably close.
This has been quite a topic. I didn't mean the typical strained back, fall or scrape. Call me demented, but I wanted to hear of hands pressed in $20 gold coins, Arms lopped in belts, and other more gruesome injuries. There had to be some. I saw a video on PBS of a woman placing $20 gold eagle planchets in the collar for pressing. She set each planchet in the collar (my lingo may be wrong) and it pressed it several times. Her hands were around the moving press most of the time. It looked like a serious accident waiting. Sounds gruesome to have hundreds of thousands of pounds crushing an appendage. Maybe its never happened. If they are as good and quick as me there would be no problem.
While I haven't read any account of such an injury at the first or second US Mint, Pistrucci did note that every coiner at the London Tower Mint had lost at least one digit. That would be circa 1815 - 1825. But then the English mint used hand-fed screw presses whereas the US Mint used a feed mechanism. Anyway, maybe you can find a mashed finger on an old shilling or sovereign.