Lubricants
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Workshop Tools & Equipment · CPSC Code 913
Down 19% over 5 years
The verdict
Lubricants carry a danger score of 34/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,796 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 19% over the last five years.
- 34/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,796
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 6.4%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 913 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 34/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for lubricants - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,796 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)6.4%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-19%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Lubricants (CPSC product code 913, in the Home Workshop Tools & Equipment category) generate an estimated 1,796 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 35,921 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 34/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 19% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2007 (2,445 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (982 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for lubricants is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 4,647 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by derma/conjunct to the eyeball (1,646 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 5,834 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 6.4% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 5 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how lubricants fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 2,411 | 1,458 | |
| 5-14 | 950 | 475 | |
| 15-24 | 3,867 | 1,303 | |
| 25-34 | 4,254 | 1,580 | |
| 35-44 | 3,190 | 2,162 | |
| 45-54 | 3,438 | 2,316 | |
| 55-64 | 2,864 | 1,726 | |
| 65-74 | 1,789 | 579 | |
| 75+ | 933 | 630 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Face | Burns, Thermal | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Foreign Body | |
| Eyeball | Burn, Chemical | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
61YOM ACCIDENTAL INJECTION OF HYDRAULIC FLUID INTO FINGER. + PUNCTURE WOUND TO FINGER. NO FURTHER INFORMATION DX INJURY FINGER
40YOM PRESENTS WITH RIGHT KNEE PAIN AFTER IT POPPED WHILE CHANGING HIS OIL IN HIS VEHICLE. DX: STRAIN OF RIGHT KNEE
56YOF WAS GETTING OUT OF A BOAT AND SLIPPED ON SOME OIL AND FELL HITTING THE BACK OF HER HEAD. DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY, CONCUSSION
32YOM STATES WORKING ON AN ENGINE & GOT GREASE IN EYE C/O R SIDED EYE PAIN & REDNESS DX R CORNEAL ABRASION CONJUNCTIVITS CHEMICAL
20YOM WITH PENILE ITCHING/URINATING AND PAINFUL URINATION STATES BEAN AFTER USING A NEW LUBRICANT. DX: DYSURIA, PENILE PAIN
47YOM COMES TO ER WITH SYNCOPE. HE STATES HE WAS OUTSIDE WORKING ON HIS BOAT AND TRIED TO SUCK THE OIL OUT OF THE ENGINE AND GOT SOME IN HIS MOUTH. LATER HE PASSED OUT, FELL BACKWARD AND HIT THE BACK OF HIS HEAD. HE HAD BEEN DRINKING AT THE TIME BAL 296.90. EXAM POSITIVE FOR NECK PAIN, HEADACHES AND A HEMATOMA LEFT OCCIPITAL REGION. MD STATES HE IS SUNBURNED. DX: SYNCOPE, DEHYDRATION
26YOF WAS CHANGING THE OIL IN HER CAR AND THE RAG FELL INTO THE BACK OF THE ENGINE SHE REACHED TO GRAP THE RAG AND THE HOOD FELL DOWN ONTO LOWER BACK DX:LOWER BACK INJURY
52YOF WAS ATTEMPTING TO MOVE A ROCK IN HER DRIVEWAY WHEN SHE SLIPPED ON SOME OIL AND FELL DX: ABRASION OF RIGHT HAND; CONTUSION OF RIGHT ELBOW; NECK SPRAIN; RIGHT HIP SPRAIN
41YOM WITH A HISTORY OF SCHIZOPHRENIA PRESENTS FOR AN EVALUATION OF PENILE PAIN. HE STATES HE HAS HAD A SPOT ON HIS PENIS FOR THREE TO FOUR DAYS. HE EXPLAINS HE WAS MASTURBATING WITH A LOT OF EFFORT AND A LITTLE LUBE AND THEN NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A PAINFUL SPOT ON HIS PENIS THE NEXT DAY. HE STATES HE HAS NOT HAD SEX IN 10 YEARS. NO CHANCE OF STD. DX: FRICTION BURN
2YOM PATIENT PRESENTS AFTER INGESTING A SMALL AMOUNT OF LUBRICATING OIL. PER MOTHER, SHE RECENTLY BOUGHT A STEPPING MACHINE, IT CAME WITH A LUBRICATING ORAL BOTTLE. THERE ARE NO DIRECTIONS, OR INGREDIENTS ON THE BOTTLE, HOWEVER SHE HAD NOT OPENED IT. SHE FOUND THE PATIENT WITH THE BOTTLE, AND THE SEAL HAS BEEN BROKEN, AND A PREVIOUSLY FULL BOTTLE, WAS NOW ROUGHLY EMPTY. DX: INGESTION OF SUBSTANCE
26 YOM WAS CHANGING THE OIL IN HIS CAR WHEN HE CAUGHT HIS FINGER IN THE FENDER OF THE CAR. DX: LACERATION RIGHT INDEX FINGER
2 YOM POSSIBLY INGESTING LUBRICATING OIL THAT CAME IN A PACKAGE WITH HAIR CLIPPERS, ER CALLED POISON CONTROL AND ADVISED HYDROCARBON INGESTION. DX ACCIDENTAL HYDROCARBON INGESTION
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Asked Lowes representative to recommend lubricant for vinyl windows. At his suggestion, I purchased and used Blaster All Purpose Lubricant. Three weeks later, the odor is making me ill and has permeated my home. The windows have been open and I have cleaned the window multiple times with detergent recommended by the manufacturer, as well as other cleaners. The odor remains and causes swelling in my eyes and nausea. Unable to sleep in the two bedrooms where the product was used.
These cans come with a pipet taped to them. The consumer attached it, so he would only use a little bit of the product. He carefully sprayed the 4 tract of a sliding glass door. He opened the door and sprayed it again because the door had been difficult to open. He moved the door back and forth a few times, hoping it would spread through the other areas of the tract. Within a couple hours, there was a terrible oily mechanical viscous taste in his mouth. Six weeks have passed, and he still has the taste in his mouth. Even his coffee doesnt taste right. He tried to clean the substance off the tract, with baking soda, [REDACTED] dishwashing liquid mixed with water 1 to 9 parts. He also tried rubbing alcohol. The consumer also placed odor eaters and active charcoal packets, in his home, but none of the steps he tried, removed the odor. He saw his doctor, who prescribed cortico-steroids for a week. The consumer did not feel as bad, but still experienced symptoms. A week later he also experienced headaches, lung aches, kidney aches, fatigue and his thinking has been foggy. The consumers landlord provided the spray, and he is not sure when or where it was purchased from. (approx.. 8/15/2025): The consumers nurse advised him to go to the ER. A brain CT-scan, chest Xray, blood and urine analysis were performed. The fire department checked his home for elevated CO levels, but they were normal. He has consulted various cleaning companies and the price ranged from $1500.00 and $1600.00. Another company, [REDACTED], indicated that they charge $120 per hour, for their services. The consumer saw a [REDACTED] video that showed a person casually spraying this product, while using it. However, the consumer said he may have seen information sugging that a ventilator and chemical proof suit be used when applying this substance. He has called the company 3 times and the last rep. told him that he should just mov
The aerosol can Of WD40 white lithium grease would not spray out the nozzle. While trying to work the nozzle into position with the nozzle pointed away from me, the can shot into my face. Fortunately I was wearing glasses. I normally would not stop to use safety glasses to lubricate a hinge. This nozzle is very temperamental and the failure mode sprays grease in unexpected directions. I am an engineer and a mechanic and well versed in workplace safety. The old push button nozzle with a plastic tube was much, MUCH safer, IMHO. At least you knew where the line of fire was.
In a bear style honey bottle put bike chain lubricant that smells like vanilla or apple or coconut. In other words, being this dumb will get their [REDACTED] sued when the kid thinks its syrup! http://fab.com/sale/24354/product/437653/?ref=sale&pos=5 http://fab.com/sale/24354/product/437651/?pref[]=designer|gnar-lube&ref=designer&pos=3 http://fab.com/sale/24354/product/437652/?pref[]=designer|gnar-lube&ref=designer&pos=4
Aerosol spray can exploded causing damage to the storage cabinet and cabinet contents.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to lubricants on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are lubricants?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, lubricants have a danger score of 34/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,796 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from lubricants?
The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 4,647 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from lubricants increasing or decreasing?
Down 19% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for lubricants injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 5,834 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by lubricants?
Of all ER visits involving lubricants, approximately 6.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (93.6%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with lubricants?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Workshop Tools & Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 34/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 25-34 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.