美国国家公共电台 NPR Despite Proven Technology, Attempts To Make Table Saws Safer Drag On

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

We've been following for a long time now a story about an invention that could save thousands of Americans every year from really serious accidents. Industry has resisted adopting it. And now, regulators in Washington may take steps to force the issue. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE¹: Back in 2004, I saw a little ad in the back of a woodworking magazine. It said SawStop, the table saw that won't cut off your fingers. Now, a table saw has a big, jagged metal blade that spins at a hundred miles an hour. And a lot of people get hurt using them. So I called up the company, and I talked to the inventor. His name is Steve Gass. And he had this amazing story to tell.

STEVE GASS: I was just out in my shop one day. And I happened to look over at my table saw and thought, you know, I wonder if you ran your hand under the blade, if you could stop it quick enough that you wouldn't get a serious injury. And it seemed doable.

ARNOLD: There was Gass back then at a woodworking show. Every year, more than 4,000 Americans suffer amputations, get their hands mangled² using table saws. And Gass figured out a safety brake that could prevent all of those accidents. None of the major power tool companies would buy his invention, so he started his own saw company. He proved that the technology worked.

And he petitioned⁴ the Consumer Product Safety Commission⁵, saying, hey, you should require the rest of the industry to make safer saws, too. And yesterday, he was back at the Commission, this time asking, why haven't you done this yet?

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GASS: You commissioners⁷ have the power to take one of the most dangerous products ever available to consumers and make it vastly safer. And yet, here we are, over 14 years after this petition³ was initially⁸ filed, still engaged in a glacial process with an uncertain end.

ARNOLD: Earlier this year, the Safety Commission voted to take a key step towards a new safety rule for table saws. The rule would require the saws to sense when an injury is about to occur and to stop the blade. That's what SawStop does. The hearing yesterday was a chance for industry and the public to weigh in. And Joshua Ward⁹ from Oregon wanted to be there.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOSHUA WARD: In 2013, I was in wood shop class in my high school.

ARNOLD: Ward says, the table saw jerked¹⁰ the wood he was cutting. And in an eye blink¹¹, four of his fingers were either cut off or badly mangled. Beyond the surgeries and the pain, Ward says it's limited his life. His dad's a firefighter. He grew up in the firehouse every day.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WARD: It's kind of been a lifelong dream of mine was to be a firefighter. And this injury has put that to an end. And as we speak, it's about 12:30. Six people have already had fingers amputated today. And there's going to be another 10 tomorrow.

ARNOLD: He urged the CPSC to adopt the new rule. But even after all this time, it's unclear if that will happen. Susan Young, with the industry group the Power Tool Institute, said the proposed rule needs even more study and is missing data.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SUSAN YOUNG: Lacks essential data from critical studies currently¹² being conducted and continuing throughout 2017.

ARNOLD: Some of the commissioners had other concerns. And with uncertainty¹³ about how to move forward in the air, Commissioner⁶ Elliot Kaye, who joined the hearing by Skype, said he had a message for Joshua Ward, who was so badly injured in shop class.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ELLIOT KAYE: Mr. Ward, I want to apologize to you, personally, that we failed you and that we continue to fail the 10 victims per day that you mentioned earlier. We should do better. We can do better.

ARNOLD: For now, the Consumer Product Safety Commission will be analyzing¹⁴ public comments. Then, the commission could finally vote on whether to make table saws a whole lot safer. Chris Arnold, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF TSUNEO IMAHORI'S "BLOOD AND THUNDER")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 mangled   

vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• His hand was mangled in the machine. 他的手卷到机器里轧烂了。
• He was off work because he'd mangled his hand in a machine. 他没上班，因为他的手给机器严重压伤了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 petition   

n.请愿书，申请书，诉状；v.请愿，正式请求

参考例句：

• Thousands of citizens subscribed the petition.几千名公民在请愿书上签名。
• The number of signers of the petition for a new school snowballed.要求增设新学校而签名的人像滚雪球似的越来越多。

4 petitioned   

祈求，请求，请愿( petition的过去式和过去分词 )； （向法庭）请求，申请

参考例句：

• They petitioned for an early end to the fighting. 他们上书请求早日结束战争。
• Several organizations petitioned the government for the release of the political prisoners. 好几个组织上书政府，请求释放政治犯。

5 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

10 jerked   

猛拉( jerk的过去式和过去分词 )； （使…）猝然一动[颤动]

参考例句：

• He jerked the phone away from her. 他猛然一下从她那儿把电话抢走。
• When she heard the news, she jerked upright in surprise. 当听到这则消息时，她惊讶得跳了起来。

11 blink   

vi.眨眼睛，闪烁；vt.眨（眼睛），使闪烁

参考例句：

• In a blink of an eye he had disappeared.一眨眼的工夫他就没影了。
• The boy disappeared around the corner in a blink of an eye.一眨眼，这男孩就在拐角处不见了。

12 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

13 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

14 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句