Nail guns can boost productivity on a construction site, but they also cause tens of thousands of serious injuries each year. In fact, nail gun injuries hospitalize more construction workers than any other type of tool-related injury.

According to OSHA, one study found that two out of five residential carpenter apprentices experienced a nail gun injury over a four-year period. When they do occur, these injuries are often not reported or given proper medical treatment. Research has identified that the risk of a nail gun injury is twice as high when using a multi-shot contact trigger as when using a single-shot sequential trigger nailer.

OSHA has launched a Nail Gun Safety Web page designed to help reduce the number of nail gun injuries.

The page offers links to regulations, training and compliance assistance materials, including the joint OSHA/NIOSH Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contractors. The guide, also available as an e-publication in English and Spanish, can be downloaded to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, as well as on desktop and laptop computers.

There’s also the aptly-named Nailing Down the Need for Nail Gun Safety from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and an OSHA eTool for woodworkers that contains information on handheld nail/stapling guns.

If you’re looking for quick tips on using nail guns safely, you’ll find them in: Toolbox Talk: Hammer Home Nail Gun Safety, from the National Association of Home Builders.

Click here to visit OSHA’s nail gun safety web page.