The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released an innovative new publication titled Straight Talk About Nail Gun Safety that uses a comic format to illustrate the potential risks of traumatic injury using nail guns and how these risks can be reduced. Real-life examples from residential building construction are used to explain nail gun traumatic injury risks related to the two different nail gun triggering systems and a variety of residential framing nailing tasks.

As a safety awareness publication, Straight Talk About Nail Gun Safety provides potential and new nail gun users with basic information to help them recognize potentially unsafe conditions and nail gun features that increase the risk of traumatic nail gun injury. It can be used in conjunction with safety training required by OSHA or to reinforce previous nail gun safety training. However, NIOSH notes that distribution of this publication alone will not satisfy OSHA safety training requirements, which are described in detail in Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contractors and can be viewed and printed or downloaded from www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2011-202/.

Straight Talk About Nail Gun Safety [DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013–149] is also available in Spanish as Plática Directa Sobre Seguridad Con Pistolas De Clavos[Publicación de DHHS (NIOSH) número 2013–149 (SP2013)]. 

The information in this publication is based on NIOSH focus group discussions with residential building subcontractors, safety specialists and workers; NIOSH supported research; and Nail Gun Safety, A Guide for Construction Contractors (NIOSH Publication No. 2011-202/OSHA Publication No. 3459-8-11).

This document is in the public interest and may be freely copied or reprinted. 

The English and Spanish versions are available as web publications for printing or download from the NIOSH website at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2013-149/ and http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh/docs/2013-149_sp/. 

A limited number of copies will be printed for distribution to home building industry stakeholders and will be available around July 15, 2013. These can be ordered by calling 1-800-CDC-INFO or on the NIOSH website at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/pubs/niosh.aspx.