Abstract: On June 30, 2004, Employee #1 was mixing a plaster material in an Essex plaster and mortar mixer. Model and Serial Number was not marked on this equipment. From the other information available from the manufacturer, it was determined to be model EM-120S with 12 cubic ft. capacity. This equipment consists of a motor unit and a mixer unit. The cylindrical mixer was 36 in. long with a 27-in. diameter. The mixing paddles inside this barrel rotate on a horizontal axis along the centerline of the mixer barrel. The top opening on this mixer, measuring approximately in. ft by 30 in. is covered with a grated cover, which opens automatically when the mixing barrel is tilted manually with a handle to pour out mixed material. The grated cover has a grid of 3.5 in. by 3.5 in. openings. One of the bars on this grid was missing, which made a set of 9 of these openings to measure 7 in. by 3.5 in. The clearance between the mixing paddles and the grated cover was 6 in. Employee #1 remembered that, at the time of this accident, he was pouring dry cement into the mixer. He was placing 90-pound cement bags, one at a time, on top of the grill cover, and then he was cutting the bag with a knife to let the material fall into the mixer. This equipment was manufactured with a bag cutter built on the grill cover, which was missing along with a missing bar on this safety grate. Employee #1 reached into the mixer with his right hand and his fingers got caught between the rotating paddle and the side of the mixing barrel. Employee #1 amputated about 1.5 in. of his right middle finger and about 0.5 in. of his right index finger. He was hospitalized.