Abstract: At approximately 9:00 a.m. on November 5, 1988, Employee #1 reached into the trash loading chute of a Tony Team model 2400 pollution packer. The trash compactor's compactor plate had already compacted the trash, which was in the lower compartment, and the hydraulic cylinder was drawing the compactor plate upward. The compactor traveled very slowly, at perhaps 1 inch per second. Employee #1 was found dead, with his head crushed between the compactor plate and the frame of the compactor. It is not clear why Employee #1 was inside the compactor while it was in operation, but it is suspected that he was trying to pull a box from between the compactor plate and the side of the compactor. The compactor was designed to shut itself off when the trash loading chute door was opened; it is suspected that the safety switch was faulty.