Four Territorians have been injured while using angle grinders in the last five weeks alone, including two people who required surgery, NT WorkSafe has reported.

The spate of incidents has triggered a warning from the workplace regulator that workplaces using angle grinders undertake hazard identification and risk assessment controls before starting any work, use the right tools for cutting different materials, stop the use of older model grinders that don’t have automatic cut-off switches, and for workers to understand the tools they are using.

The most common injuries include amputated fingers and severed tendons, and deep cuts to the face, upper body or legs, NT WorkSafe said.

The first injury involved a trainee boilermaker who underwent five hours of surgery to save his thumb after the grinder he was using kicked back into his hand breaking the cutting disc.

A second incident lacerated a worker’s hand when an angle grinder he was using to cut sheet metal for ductwork “grabbed and kicked back”. NT WorkSafe later discovered that the grinder’s handle was not attached when the accident occurred.

Another accident involving a 5-inch angle grinder caused eye injuries requiring medical treatment to a first-year apprentice cutting a section of a metal frame. Metal particles from the frame entered the worker’s eye despite wearing safety glasses, NT WorkSafe said.

The fourth mishap led to a construction worker requiring surgery after injuring his hand when he accidentally hit the start switch of an older model 9-inch grinder that did not have a safety switch.

NT WorkSafe said serious incidents could happen when cutting and grinding discs are fitted onto hand-held power and air tools.

“Angle grinders have caused several serious injuries in the Northern Territory, and there have been some deaths nationally caused by angle grinders,” the workplace regulator said in a statement.

NT WorkSafe recommends tools with removable side handles to accommodate left or right-hand users, using tools with moveable guards that can be repositioned, using correct disc types with compatible locking nuts, wearing proper safety gear – safety glasses, work gloves, and earmuffs – when using power tools, and close supervision for inexperienced workers.