RobotRisk Autonomous Systems Incident & Risk Register
RobotRisk / Amazon / 2018-12
warehouse automation · injury

Robot punctures bear repellent can, sickens dozens of warehouse workers

S4 · 12/2018
~06:05 EST · Amazon · Robbinsville, NJ, USA

Record

CompanyAmazon
Categorywarehouse automation
Typeinjury
Date12/2018
Time of day~06:05 EST
LocationRobbinsville, NJ, USA · Amazon fulfillment center
SeverityS4 (serious injury, total loss, or grounding)
Scale1 robot/incident, 24 hospitalized
Confidencehigh
VerificationYes - adversarially checked against the cited source
SourceNPR

What happened

An automated machine at Amazon's Robbinsville, NJ fulfillment center punctured a 9 oz can of bear repellent (capsaicin spray); more than 50 workers reported illness and 24 were hospitalized, one in critical condition.

Amazon record context

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Comparable injury events in warehouse automation

SevDateCompanyEvent
S32020-09AmazonReveal investigation: Amazon's robotic fulfillment centers have higher serious injury rates

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