Electric shock accidents

Electric burns, and electric shock combined with burns, account for most of the work-related reported electrical accidents. Electric shocks on their own, although very common occurrences, are infrequently notified to the enforcement authorities. This is because an electric shock injury only needs to be reported if it results in death or unconsciousness, or in the injured person being detained in hospital for 24 hours or longer, or in the person... 

A quarter of all serious electrical accidents involve portable electrical appliances that is, equipment which has a cable lead and plug and which is normally moved around or can easily be moved from place to place. This includes, for example, floor cleaners, kettles, heaters, portable power tools, fans, televisions, desk lamps, photocopiers, fax machines and desktop computers. There is a requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act for employers to take adequate steps to protect users of portable appliances from the hazards of electric shock and fire. The responsibility for safety applies equally to small as well as large companies. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 also place a duty of care upon employers to ensure that the risks associated with the use of electrical equipment are controlled. 

American Industrial Hygiene Association, Laboratory Health and Safety Committee. Laboratory Safety Incidents Electrical Shock from Electrophoresis Unit available at http //www2.umdnj.edu/eohssweb/ aiha/accidents/electrical.htm Electrophoresis (accessed September 20, 2009). 

Electrical burns occur from environmental, domestic and industrial sources. Of 290 fatal factory accidents in Great Britain, 21 were due to electric shock a larger number died from burns after contact with domestic 240-V alternating current (50 Hz) (Cason 1981). The lesions are due to heat and direct injury by electricity, the severity depending, for example, on current voltage, thickness and wetness of the skin, and... 

Approximately 8% of all fatalities at work are caused by electric shock. Over the last few years, there have been between 12 and 16 employee deaths due to electricity, between 210 and 258 major accidents and about 500 over three-day accidents each year. The majority of the fatalities occur in the agriculture, extractive and utility supply and service industries, while the majority of the major accidents happen in the manufacturing, construction and service industries. 

Almost 25% of all reportable electrical accidents involve portable electrical equipment (known as portable appliances). While most of these accidents were caused by electric shock, over 2000 fires each year are started by faulty cables used by portable appliances, caused by a lack of effective maintenance. Portable electrical tools often present a high risk of injury, which is frequently caused by the conditions under which they are used. These conditions include the use of defective or unsuitable equipment and, indeed, the misuse of equipment. There must be a system to record the inspection, maintenance and repair of these tools. 

Where plugs and sockets are used for portable tools, sufficient sockets must be provided for all the equipment and adaptors should not be used. Many accidents are caused by faulty flexible cables, extension leads, plugs and sockets, particularly when these items become damp or worn. Accidents often occur when contact is made with some part of the tool which has become live (probably at mains voltage), while the user is standing on, or in contact with, an earthed conducting surface. If the electrical supply is at more than 50 volts ac, then the electric shock that a person may receive from such defective equipment is potentially lethal. In adverse environmental conditions, such as humid or damp atmospheres, even lower voltages can be dangerous. Portable electrical equipment should not be used in flammable atmospheres if it can be avoided and it must also comply with any standard relevant to the particular environment. Air operated equipment should also be used as an alternative whenever it is practical. 

Accidents involving an electric shock are usually subdivided into two categories - direct contact and indirect contact shocks. The standards that will be considered later use this distinction. A direct contact shock occurs when conductors that are meant to be live, such as bare wires or terminals, are touched. An indirect contact shock is usually associated with touching an exposed conductive part that has become live under fault conditions an example of an exposed conductive part would be the metal casing of a washing machine. 

The majority of direct and indirect contact electric shock and burn accidents occur at 230 V on distribution systems or on connected equipment. There are many instances in which high voltage overhead lines are touched, so this is a form of direct contact however, they usually result in predominantly burn injuries rather than electric shock. 

It can be assumed that the numbers for fatal accidents will be accurate because the HSE learns about all workplace deaths, but those for non-fatal injuries will seriously underestimate the actual number of workplace injuries because of endemic underreporting. Many employers and self-employed people are reluctant to report injuries to the HSE, despite the fact that not to do so is a breach of the Reporting of Injuries and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. Another influencing factor is that the Regulations only require to be reported those electric shock injuries that lead to unconsciousness or require resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours very many electric shock incidents do not fall within those categories. Otherwise, electrical injuries must be reported if they lead to ... 

Fatalities from electrical incidents account for about 6% of all work-related fatal accidents, with the overall accident statistics being dominated by injuries sustained from being struck by vehicles and by slips, trips and falls. In contrast, non-fatal electrical injuries account for just 0.5% of all non-fatal injuries. This is probably because many electric shock incidents go unreported - the consequences of an electric shock tend to be either very severe or the victim is able to walk away from it. 

There are few reported accidents where the victim received an electric shock. This is probably because the fault involves an earthed conductor so the tool does not attain a significant voltage to the surrounding ground and... 

To get the attention of the people in your organization who are exposed to electrical hazards or who you want to have a greater awareness, there must be examples to which they can relate. Some trainers like to use graphic pictures of electrical injuries for the shock potential others would rather use interactive discussion of accidents that co-workers have experienced. The reality of explaining the human effect of electrical shock and bum is probably a composite of showing what may happen and encouraging discussion of electrical hazards and electrical hazard management. It is probably important to emphasize all of the other potential results of electrical contact and state that death is, conceivably, a worst case. 

Reporting electrical shocks as with reporting any accident must have positive consequences or it will not happen. In other words, your people must believe that they will benefit from each report. YOUR actions, not your words, are important. 

Situations like those above impair accident/incident reporting systems, but they do occur. If you want to know about your electrical shocks, go out and find out what is really happening. Work with the people who are exposed to the electrical hazards. 

This list of common elements consciously and conspicuously omits the did not follow safety mles excuse that is seen in some accident reports beeause this excuse is not the real accident cause. If someone did not follow safety rules, there are underlying reasons. The critical point in accident investigation is why the safety rules were not followed. The common elements can provide a ftamework for considering the causes of an electrical shock, injury or contact, and provide a starting point for removing the causes and preventing future electrical accidents. 

Key people absent or unavailable. Accidents and electrical shocks have occurred because people who know idiosyncrasies of a system (i.e., key people) are not present. The people doing the work have general backgroimds and may be quite experienced, but they are not aware of recent modifications, undocumented changes and special installations. 

Risks of Accidents include working at heights, inadequate wiring, contact with hot surfaces, unprotected machinery, impact tools and materials, flooding, slope, collapse, and formation of an explosive atmosphere, which can cause falls, electrical shocks, burns, entrapment and injury in limb or other body part, drowning, engulfment, suffocation, fire and explosion. 

Sources of energy causing accidents can be associated with the product or process (e.g., flammability or electrical shock), the resource if different than the product/process (e.g., smoking near flammable fluids), and the items/conditions surrounding the system... 

The very nature of working in a workplace with hazardous chemicals makes emergencies very real possibilities. These emergencies strike suddenly and unexpectedly and require immediate response. Although it is the accidents with hazardous materials that are most likely to lead to emergency response situations in the workplace, other possible emergency situations must also be taken into account. For example, fires, storms (hurricanes and tornadoes), earthquakes, electrical shock, power failure, and medical emergencies are real possibilities (these events may be related to [in the case of fire and medical problems] or compounded by hazardous materials, but not in every situation). 

Andrew Cook, the plaintiff s colleague and scaffolder got electric shock later knocked down another men with a mark on his arm. The plaintiff got nervous shock after witnessnessed Mr Cook s accident... 

A severe shock can also cause considerably more damage to your body than is visible. You can suffer internal bleeding and destmction of tissues, muscles, nerves, and internal organs. In addition, shock is often only the beginning in a chain of events. The final injury may be from a fall, cuts, bums, or broken bones. The most common shock-related injiuy is a bum. Bvu-ns suffered in electrical accidents are of three types electrical biums, arc bums, and thermal contact bums. 

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