CPSC NEISS · code 933

Turpentine

Turpentine: danger rank #684 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #725 of 838 (155 estimated ER visits a year; rising by about 16% over the last five years).

Home Workshop Tools & Equipment CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Turpentine ranks #684 of 838 by danger score (29/100) at ER-volume #725 of 838 (155/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#684
danger rank of 838
#725
ER-volume rank of 838
29/100
danger score
155/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 (29/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

29 Among the lowest lower than 82% 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: 26/100

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.

B
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 3 20th 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 155 11th 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend +16% 79th 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 1 18th 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 3,089 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 933. Segments sum to 3,089 - 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

1. Gasoline47/1002. Methyl Alcohol (solvent)45/1003. Caustics43/1004. Lye42/1005. Gasoline Cans41/1006. Paints, Varnishes Or Shel…41/1007. General Purpose Household…41/1008. Turpentine29/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10029/100
PlainSafety danger score · Turpentine

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 29/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for turpentine - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 155 ER visits/yr Low volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 2.6% Low admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
  • 5-year trend+16%

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 turpentine are rising by about 16% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2022 (384 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (16 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 1,497 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burn, chemical to the hand (220 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 607 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 2.6% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how turpentine 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)

0100200300400500 20052008201120142017202020232024 213
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Turpentine, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 319 288 607
5-14 46 211 257
15-24 159 192 351
25-34 16 284 300
35-44 263 76 339
45-54 354 32 386
55-64 322 16 338
65-74 140 167 307
75+ 119 83 202

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
All Parts Body Poisoning 1,497
Hand Burn, Chemical 220
Internal Ingestion 150
Ear Other 136
Lower Arm Derma/conjunct 113
Eyeball Foreign Body 108
Foot Other 83
Lower Trunk Derma/conjunct 83
Eyeball Hematoma 80
Upper Trunk Burns, Thermal 79
Eyeball Derma/conjunct 78
Hand Derma/conjunct 78
Hand Burns, Thermal 73
Upper Leg Burn, Chemical 72
Head Burn, Chemical 35

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 91.0% (2,811)
Held For Observation 3.0% (93)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 2.4% (75)
Treated And Transferred 2.0% (62)
Left Without Being Seen 1.6% (48)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 49 · Male · Eyeball · Foreign Body · 2024

49YOM THINKS HE MAY HAVE SOMETHING IN HIS LEFT EYE. PT.. WAS CLEANING STICKERS OFF HIS TRAILER, MAY HAVE GOTTEN TURPENTINE IN HIS EYE.DX: CORNEAL FOREIGN BODY.

Age 64 · Male · Ear · Other · 2024

64YOM C/O PUTTING TURPINTINE IN BOTH EARS, BY ACCIDENT INSTEAD OF OLIVE OIL THIS MORNING, HE PICKED UP TURPINTINE. HE MEANT TO APPLY OLIVE OIL IN HIS EARS BEFORE EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY BY AIR. DX: BILATERAL ACUTE OTITIS EXTERNA OF EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANALS CAUSE BY CHEMICAL

Age 80 · Male · Eyeball · Other · 2023

80 YOM OPENDED A CAN OF MINERAL SPIRITS THAT SPLASHED IN HIS EYE. DX: CHEMICAL EXPOSURE RIGHT EYE.

Age 27 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2023

27 YOF STATES HER UNCLE TOLD HER TO TAKE A CAPFUL OF TURPENTINE TO HELP HER WITH HER ALLERGIES. SHE PRESENTS WITH NAUSEA AND EPIGASTRIC ABDOMINAL PAINDX: TURPENTINE POISONING ACCIDENTAL

Age 9 · Male · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2023

9 YOM ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOWED TURPENTINE DX; ACCIDENTAL INGESTION

Age 5 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2023

5YOF DRANK TURPENTINE THAT WAS IN A *** BOTTLE THAT BROTHER KEEPS WITH HIS PAINTING MATERIALS. SHE IMMEDIATELY SPIT IT OUT AND WAHED HER MOUTH OUT. SHE COMPLAINED OF MOUTH PAIN AT THE TIME, DX: ACCIDENTAL INGESTION OF SUBSTANCE

Age 66 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2022

66YOM WAS EATING BEEF SAUSAGE AND A PIECE GOT STUCK IN HIS THROAT DX: ACUTE ESOPHAGEAL OBSTRUCTION

Age 26 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2022

26 YOF C/O ALTERED MENTAL STATUS AND VOMITING AND DIARRHEA S/P SMOKING MARIJUANA AND INGESTING TURPENTINE LIQUID AS AN ALCOHOL CLEANSE THAT SHE READ ABOUT ON THE INTERNET, WHILE AT HOME. DX: VOMITING AND DIARRHEA; MARIJUANA SMOKING; INGESTION OF SUBSTANCE, ACCIDENTAL OR UNINTENTIONAL

Age 28 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2022

28YOF TO ER FOR POLYSUBSTANCE DRUG ABUSE, PT CONCERNED ABOUT HEROIN WITHDRAWL, SAYS SHE DRANK TURENTINE 2 DAYS AGO THINKING IT WAS METH, PT HAS SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, DX ACUTE PSYCHOSIS, KYPOKALEMIA, LEUKOCYTOSIS, HEROIN WITHDRAWL, METH ABUSE, POLYSUBSTANCE ABUSE

Age 49 · Male · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2022

49yom put turpentine into prune juice and drank it developing abdominal pain-(saw it on *** advertised,saying turpentine will cure most ailments) DX: hydrocarbon ingestion, abdominal pain

Age 69 · Female · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2021

69 YOF C/O UPPER ABDOMINAL PAIN (ABOVE NAVEL) S/P DRANK TURPENTINE THAT SHE ORDERED OFF OF *** IN ORDER TO RID HER BODY OF BUGS. PATIENT IS WORRIED THAT SHE MAY BE POISONED. DX: DELUSIONAL DISORDER

Age 3 · Male · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2021

3YOM PRESENTS FOR EVALUATION OF TURPENTINES/PAIN THINNER INGESTION. PER MOM, PT GOT INTO HER BOTTLE OF PAINT THINNER AND DRANK ABOUT 3 ML OF THE TURPENTINES. DX: ASPIRATION PENUMONITIS; TACHYPNEA. %

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

6/16/2011 · Injury, Level of care not known · W.M. Barr & Company, Inc. · North Carolina

Consumer stated that she purchased a can of Turpentine, however when she opened it up the container it did not smell like turpentine, there was strong odor of chemical which caused a sore throat, burning itching eyes and sneezing. Consumer stated that because the odor was so strong she had to take back to the retailer store and was informed that it was placed in the hazmat department. She received no more information on the item. She was also given a refund. Consumer feels that this product is health hazard and should be investigated.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to turpentine on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Home Workshop Tools & Equipment

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Turpentine: cross-group products nearest on danger score (29/100), estimated annual ER visits (155/yr), and hospitalization share (2.6%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

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, Turpentine ranks #684 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #725 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does turpentine rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, turpentine ranks #684 by PlainSafety danger score (29/100) and #725 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (155/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from turpentine?

The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 1,497 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from turpentine increasing or decreasing?

Up 16% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for turpentine injuries?

The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 607 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by turpentine?

Of all ER visits involving turpentine, approximately 2.6% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.4%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with turpentine?

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.

Data on Turpentine is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

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.