Danger score versus ER volume
Danger score versus ER volume
According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Lye ranks #105 of 838 by danger score (42/100) at ER-volume #675 of 838 (287/yr). They are not the same ranking.
- #105
- danger rank of 838
- #675
- ER-volume rank of 838
- 42/100
- danger score
- 287/yr
- estimated ER visits (avg)
Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.
Where this category's danger score sits nationally
Danger score (42/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories
42 Higher than most more dangerous than 84% of 838 product categories
scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024
Composite verdict
Composite Safety Score: 57/100
One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.
| Dimension | Value | National percentile | Weight applied | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) | 22 | 94th | 35% | CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index |
| Annual ER injury volume | 287 | 17th | 30% | CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries |
| 5-year injury trend | +49% | 93rd | 15% | CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries |
| Consumer incident reports | 2 | 25th | 20% | CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count |
Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.
Where 5,448 estimated ER injuries land on the body
Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 969. Segments sum to 5,448 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.
Two danger lenses
Same-group peer scores and this product's dial
The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Home Workshop Tools & Equipment group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.
Home Workshop Tools & Equipment danger scores
How this 42/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for lye - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume 287 ER visits/yr Low volume
- Severity (hospitalization rate) 21.8% Very high admission rate
- Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
- 5-year trend+49%
Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for lye are rising by about 49% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2005 (564 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2013 (92 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 1,386 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burn, chemical to the face (781 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,285 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 21.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how lye 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 Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 952 | 333 | |
| 5-14 | 71 | 74 | |
| 15-24 | 147 | 447 | |
| 25-34 | 330 | 219 | |
| 35-44 | 660 | 402 | |
| 45-54 | 933 | 183 | |
| 55-64 | 260 | 28 | |
| 65-74 | 131 | 107 | |
| 75+ | 34 | 139 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Face | Burn, Chemical | |
| Eyeball | Burn, Chemical | |
| Hand | Burn, Chemical | |
| Lower Arm | Burn, Chemical | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Foot | Burn, Chemical | |
| Knee | Burn, Chemical | |
| Mouth | Burn, Chemical | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Burn, Chemical | |
| Face | Derma/conjunct | |
| Shoulder | Burn, Chemical | |
| All Parts Body | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
49 YOM C/O REDNESS/PAIN TO HANDS FROM POSSIBLE CHEMICAL BURN WITH POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE WHILE MOVING CONTAINERS IN A SHED AT BROTHER HOUSE DX CHEMICAL BURNS TO HANDS
20YOM SPRAYED WITH A LYE TYPE CHEMICAL ON ARM. DX: CHEMICAL EXPOSURE, ARM
34 YOF WAS CLEANING WITH LYE AND SPILLED SOME OF IT, NOW HAS BURNING IN EYES. DX: CHEMICAL EXPOSURE BILATERAL EYES
48YOM PRESENTS WITH FACIAL BURNS. PATIENT STATES YESTERDAY HE WAS DUMPING THE LINE OF SEPTIC TANK, WORKING WITH BASIC CHEMICAL LYE WHEN IT SPLASHED UP AND GOT ONTO HIS FACE. DX: CHEMICAL BURN TO FACE AND EYE
60YOF STATES SHE WAS POURING LYE INTO A SINK WHEN IT EXPLODED BACK INTO FACE, DX: 4.5% TBSA CHEMICAL BURNS TO FACE, CHEMICAL BURNS TO BOTH EYES
43 YOM WAS MIXING LYE WITH ESSENTAIL OILS WHILE MAKING SOAP DX: ACCUTE TOXIC CONJUNCTIVITIS
4YOF WAS FOUND WITH WHITE RESIDUE AROUND LIPS GOT INTO SOME CAL LYE POWDER DX INGESTION OF A SUBSTANCE
84 YOF WAS FOUND WITH LYE NEAR HER, SWALLOWED SOME. DX: LYE CAUSING TOXIC EFFECT, UNDETERMINED INTENT, FACIAL SWELLING
16MOM PRESENTED TO ED C/O FOREIGN SUBTANCE, INGESTED LYE WATER (POTASSIUM CARBONATE AND SODIUM BI-CARBONATE SOLUTION) MOM IS UNSURE HOW MUCH THE CHILD INGESTED. DX; LYE INGESTION
4YOF WAS MAKING LYE SOAP ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER AND CHILD INGESTED THE LYE ABOUT 2.4 OZ IN A CONTAINER. , THEN CHLLD VOMITED AND HAS MOUTH AND THROAT PAIN. DX: INGESTION OF CORROSIVE CHEMICAL
15YOF PT WAS IN CHEMISTRY CLASS MAKING SOAP, TOUCHED POWDERED LYE, IMMEDIATELY REMOVED FINGER - C/O NUMBNESS TO FINGER & AROUND MOUTH DX: TOXIC EFFECT OF SODIUM HYDROXIDE, ALLERGIC REACTION #
37YOF WAS MAKING SOUP, WHEN SHE GOT SOME LYE IN HER RIGHT EYE. DX: PAIN AROUND RIGHT EYE, TOXIC EFFECT OF CAUSTIC ALKALI UNINTENTIONAL
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
A toddler got into his mother's soap making lye and burned his mouth, requiring general anesthesia. Luckily he'll be OK, but the container is not child-proofed.
My son had a school project to create something, so he decided to make his own "natural" soap. The recipe we found online called for the use of lye. So we utilized it, following the directions on the package. We made ten different containers of soap, one to turn in as his project and the others to give out to family and friends. When we set the containers on the floor to settle the lye burned a whole through the containers and caused damage to my hardwood floors, eating the polyurethane and discoloring my floor.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to lye on the CPSC website.
Compare beyond Home Workshop Tools & Equipment
Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization
Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Lye: cross-group products nearest on danger score (42/100), estimated annual ER visits (287/yr), and hospitalization share (21.8%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.
Similar danger score
Nearest cross-group products by PlainSafety danger score (100-point scale).
Similar ER visit volume
Nearest cross-group products by NEISS estimated annual ER visits.
Similar hospitalization rate
Nearest cross-group products by % of NEISS ER visits resulting in hospital admission.
Related Products in Home Workshop Tools & Equipment
Read with this product
About this data
CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.
According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Lye ranks #105 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #675 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does lye rank on danger score versus ER volume?
Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, lye ranks #105 by PlainSafety danger score (42/100) and #675 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (287/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.
What are the most common injuries from lye?
The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 1,386 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from lye increasing or decreasing?
Up 49% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for lye injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,285 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by lye?
Of all ER visits involving lye, approximately 21.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (78.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with lye?
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.
PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.