Accidents electrical burns

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... 

The most common shock-related injury is a bum. Bums suffered in electrical accidents may be of three t5T)es electrical burns, arc burns, and thermal contact bums. 

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... 

In a retrospective study of 148 cases of occupational eye injuries in Germany, ocular bums (not specified as chemical or other etiology) comprised 15.5% of the total [10]. In another German study of 101 patients with 131 severely burned eyes, 72.3% of the injuries were work-related, 84.2% were chemical injuries, and 79.8% of these were due to alkalis [11], Of 42 cases of alkali ocular bums admitted to a German eye clinic between 1985 and 1992, 73.8% involved industrial accidents [19]. In Finland in 1973,11.9% of all industrial accidents were ocular injuries and bums comprised 3.6% of these (chemical or other injury mechanism not specified) [12]. A 7-year retrospective Australian study of 182 industrial bums found that 5.5% were ocular bums due to chemicals, gas explosions, and electric flashes (percentages not specified) [30]. In a 4-year hospital-based study in Taiwan, of 486 patients with eye injuries, 39.9% were work-related [20]. Chemical ocular bums accounted for 19.6% of these injuries [20],... 

Unlike burning fossil fuels, nuclear reactions do not produce pollutants such as carbon dioxide and acidic sulfur and nitrogen compounds. However, the nuclear reactions do form highly radioactive waste that is hard to dispose of safely. Other serious problems include the potential release of radioactive materials into the environment when fires or explosions take place, and also the limited supply of fissionable fuel and the higher cost of producing electricity using nuclear fuels rather than fossil fuels. Nuclear reactors that have experienced serious accidents are shown in Figure 21.13. 

A fact in most fire accidents is that fire is always initiated with small burning items such as electrical fixtures, stoves, and heating units [2]. The spread of fire becomes essential for the development of small fires to catastrophes. Therefore, the basic... 

The tissue damage is very dependent on exposure time cells can tolerate long time exposure of 43 °C. Above about 45 °C, the time duration becomes more and more critical. In high-voltage accidents, the heat effect may be very important, and patients are treated as thermal burn patients. In particular, special attention is paid to the fluid balance, because electrical bum patients tend to go into renal failure more readily than thermal bums of equal severity. As electric current disposes thermal energy directly into the tissue, the electric bum is often deeper than a thermal bum caused by thermal energy penetrating... 

The main hazards associated with lasers are eye and skin burns, toxic fumes, electricity and fire. The vast majority of accidents with lasers affect the eyes. Retinal damage is the most common and is irreversible. Cataract development and various forms of conjunctivitis can also result from laser accidents. Skin... 

Finally, thermal contact bvu"ns are those normally experienced when the skin comes in contact with hot surfaces of overheated electric conductors, conduits, or other energized equipment. Additionally, clothing may be ignited in an electrical accident and a thermal burn will result. All three types of burns can be produced simultaneously. 

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. 

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. 

An injury is a wound or damage to the body resulting from an event in the work environment. Examples include cuts, punctures, lacerations, abrasions, fractures, bruises, contusions, chipped teeth, amputations, insect bites, electrocution, or thermal, chemical, electrical, or radiation burns. Classify sprains and strain injuries to muscles, joints, and connective tissues as injuries when they result from a slip, trip, fall, or other similar accidents. 

One of the greatest potential sources of accidents lies in electricity, by virtue of the fact that it cannot be seen, and its presence is not obvious. Although the output of electricity has been doubling every 10 years, the fatal accident rate as a result of shocks and burns remains remarkably steady, and has not risen with increased and widespread use. The types of hazard associated with electricity can be broadly classified into two categories ... 

Another type of accident common to all types of excavation work is that caused by machinery or operatives striking buried electric power cables. Fortunately injuries from such accidents are usually limited to burns, fatalities being relatively few compared with the high proportion of fatal accidents when overhead power cables are struck. Nevertheless the buried cable (or gas and water main) hazard remains a serious one and is a frequent cause of delays and high costs to the contractor. It is the subject of a special study by the Construction Industry Research and Information Association. 

---