Heres the statistics I have been given...
There are 600,000-800,000 occupational needlesticks reported per year. This includes healthcare workers, law enforcement, hotel housekeeping staff, janitors, tattoo artists, body piercers etc.
[b]95% of reported needlesticks are to the opposite hand[/b].
Of the groups who encounter needlesticks law enforcement are at a higher risk to bloodborn pathogens like HIV, Hep B and Hep C. This is because the source of the found syringes are often IV drug users who are higher risk for the mentioned infectious diseases.
Because the needle destruction device(NDD)is intentionally designed to be operated by a single hand, this minimizes/eliminates the opposite hand exposure.
The goal is to improve safety by changing procedure. The NDD is a mobile unit which would be used BETWEEN the acquisition of the needle(the most dangerous part) destruction with the NDD, and the disposal of the blunt in a sharps or biohazard container(depending on local, county, and state laws for bio-waste) or logging into evidence.
This product is a direct result of the November 2001 change in the OSHA standard requiring an "engineering control" for occupations where any needle exposure can occur.