Recording Tapes
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 Structures & Construction Materials · CPSC Code 531
Down 68% over 5 years
The verdict
Recording Tapes carry a danger score of 26/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 288 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 68% over the last five years.
- 26/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 288
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 7.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 531 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 26/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for recording tapes - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume288 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)7.2%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-68%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Recording Tapes (CPSC product code 531, in the Home Structures & Construction Materials category) generate an estimated 288 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 5,470 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 26/100 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 68% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2007 (901 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2021 (5 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for recording tapes is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 646 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the head (532 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,029 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 7.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how recording tapes 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 | 579 | 450 | |
| 5-14 | 568 | 253 | |
| 15-24 | 451 | 451 | |
| 25-34 | 311 | 280 | |
| 35-44 | 241 | 231 | |
| 45-54 | 216 | 242 | |
| 55-64 | 299 | 535 | |
| 65-74 | 30 | 180 | |
| 75+ | 16 | 138 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Foot | Other | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
57YOM PT CHEWED & SWALLOWED A SMALL PIECE OF CASSETTE TAPE FILM. PT STATES IS FEELING SAD, MISSING MOM & DAD. HISTORY OF ANXIETY WITH DEPRESSION DX: FOREIGN BODY ALIMENTARY TRACT
62YOM PATIENT DROPPED A BOX OF VHS TAPES ON HIS FOOT DX: LIMB ISCHEMIA, ACUTE RIGHT LOWER EXTREMITY DVT
31YOM FELL WHILE HOLDING A VHS VIDEO TAPE AND HIT FACE DX: LACEERATION TO FACE
35 YOM WAS BENDING OVER AND PICKING UP SOME VIDEOS 3 DAYS AGO AND HAS LOW BACK PAIN.DX: LUMBAR STRAIN
7YOM STEPPED ON A VCR TAPE; DX: TOE LAC
15YOF WAS SITTING ON FLOOR LAUGHING AT VIDEOS WITH MOM AND HAD SHARP PAIN ON LEFT SIDE DX CHEST WALL PAIN
6 YO M FAMILY WAS DIGGING OUT OLD VHS TAPES AND ONE HIT PT ON HEAD DX LAC SCALP 1CM
57YOF LAC FINGER ON VCR
2YOF-MOTHER STATES PT HIT IN HEAD SEVERAL TIMES BY BROTHER WITH A VHS TAPE-PT VOMITTED DX: HEAD CONTUSION
62 YOF PILE OF VCR TAPES FELL ON HEAD DX; CONCUSSION W/O LOC
2 YOM INJURED FINGER,PLAYING WITH VHS TAPE/CASSETE AT HOME. DX-LACERATION RIGHT RING FINGER
33 YOM BENT OVER TO INSERT VCR CASSETTE. LB PAIN. STRAIN, LOWER BACK
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to recording tapes on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are recording tapes?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, recording tapes have a danger score of 26/100 (low risk). An estimated 288 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from recording tapes?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 646 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from recording tapes increasing or decreasing?
Down 68% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for recording tapes injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,029 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by recording tapes?
Of all ER visits involving recording tapes, approximately 7.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (92.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with recording tapes?
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 Structures & Construction Materials
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 26/100 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 0-4 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.
