Abstract: At approximately 12:35 p.m. on April 22, 1994, Employee #1, a 30-year-old production worker for Aquanetics Systems, was operating a table saw to cut foam packing material. The table saw did not have a guard over its 10 inch blade, which was exposed one inch above the table surface. Employee #1's left hand contacted the exposed blade when he reached to retrieve kicked back material. Coworkers in the immediate area came to his aid and took him into an office while 911 was called. His left middle fingertip, which had been amputated to the first knuckle, was recovered and placed in ice. Paramedics arrived in a few minutes and transported Employee #1 to a local hospital. The guard had been removed for some time and could not be found. The saw was taken out of service and locked in a storage room, and the foam cutting operation was stopped. Aquanetics Systems now has its foam inserts delivered in the precut sizes required for packing shipping containers.