Abstract: At approximately 1:15 a.m. on November 27, 1990, Employee #1 was cleaning off excess meat from the blade of a meat grinder. The electric power to the grinder had been disconnected by the foreman. Employee #1 removed the guard and started to clean the grinder, unaware that the blade was still coasting. He slipped and his thumb contacted the rotating blade, which was behind a 1 in. thick plate that had several 1 in. diameter holes in it. His thumb went through one of the holes and was amputated. Employee #1 had been working at this facility for a week, and had received no specific training on cleaning the grinders. The employer was cited for lack of an accident prevention program and for not reporting the incident.