Abstract: At approximately 12:19 a.m. on January 3, 2003, an employee was cleaning a garbage disposal machine on line feeder number three. He opened the hinged cover, which was 10 in. by 10 in. The cover had an interlock on it which would have deactivated the machine when opened, but it did not function. The employee's left hand came in contact with a rotary chopper that was inside the produce shedder of the garbage disposal. He suffered an amputation to his index and middle fingers on his left hand and was hospitalized. The defective interlock had been replaced and was functioning following the accident.