ELECTRIC SAFETY – OVERHEAD POWER LINE (OHPL) INCIDENTS
Overhead
power line (OHPL) injuries have outnumbered all other types of electrical
injury since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking these incidents in
1992. We conducted the necessary
research and published our findings to raise awareness among these at-risk
industries and occupations and help reduce overhead power line injuries and
fatalities.”
Industries
with the highest number of fatal overhead power line electrical injuries are,
in order:
o
power
line construction,
o
electrical
work,
o
roofing,
o
electrical
services (utilities),
o
ornamental
shrub and tree services,
o
asbestos
and lead pain removal services,
o
painting
and concrete work.
The
occupations with the highest number of fatal overhead power line injuries are,
in order:
o
electrical
power installers and repairers,
o
construction
laborers,
o
supervisors
for electricians and power transmission installers,
o
non-construction
laborers,
o
construction
trades,
o
painters,
o
carpenters,
o
roofers,
o
electricians
and
o
truck
drivers.
While it
should come as no surprise that most overhead power line injuries occur in
occupations that work on overhead power lines, such as line workers, we
also found that a significant number of fatalities were attributed to
occupations that don’t directly involve power lines, such as laborers, painters,
roofers, truck drivers, and farmers. This evidence demonstrates a need
for overhead power line safety training beyond those who expect to have direct
contact with power lines.
Many
occupations that are not usually associated with OHPL-job responsibilities are
fatally injured in the course of work performed in the vicinity of OHPLs. Conductive ladders, aluminum siding, sheet
metal, metallic poles and handheld objects are frequent elements in OHPL
electrocutions for painters, siding mechanics and tree trimmers.
//_________________________________________________//
The driver
of a truck and loader crane sat tight in his cab after pulling down high
tension power lines in Zell am See, Austria, on Friday.
The
truck’s tires catch fire
The loader
crane was not stowed and was left over the top of a piece of equipment on the
back of the truck. As the truck passed over a railway level-crossing the top of
the crane caught up on the 15,000 volt power lines above the tracks. The
truck’s tires caught fire as the power hit them, but the driver, 67, had the
knowledge to calmly stay in his cab until the power was cut off.
The fire
department arrived quickly, organised for the power to be cut and took around
half an hour to put out the fire and make sure that no residual current
remained – the driver then finally left the cab. He was taken to hospital for a
precautionary check-up.
The fire
is extinguished and its almost ready for the drive to get out of the cab
//____________________________________________________//
Ivy, Virginia
A utility contractor employee suffered serious burns on Tuesday after he and the work platform he was using touched a live overhead power line in Ivy, Virginia.
The emergency services rescued him with a fire ladder, once they had cut the power supply to the area and made sure that no residual current was present.
The stricken man is rescued
Witnesses say that there was a huge flash that knocked out some of the power and caused the truck mounted aerial device to catch fire. The man seemed to be caught up in the power lines, but regained consciousness before the fire crew arrived. He was said to have received burns to 30 percent of his body.
The man was installing fiber optic cabling for a phone company when he inadvertently touch the power line. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating.