OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14330617
U.S. DEPT OF DEFENSE, TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT
TOBYHANNA, PA·
Event description
ELECTRIC SHOCK - CONTACT WITH ENERGIZED PARTS
Investigation abstract
An employee was testing the 9000-volt dc output from a satellite communications supply. His supervisor was manually increasing the voltage with a rheostat-type variac when he noticed that the needle on the voltmeter was not working. The sup ervisor yelled to the employee, who was reading his electrostatic voltmeter, to check the voltage adjustment rod or to see if the temporary high-voltage lead wa s connected. Either the employee contacted live parts, or the voltmeter failed. The employee was electrocuted. The employee's belt buckle had apparently been in contact with a grounded metal screw. A burn mark was found on the belt buckle, the metal screw, and behind and under the voltmeter.
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 44 Male
- Nature of injury
- Electric Shock (10)
- Part of body
- BODYSYSTEM (4)
- Accident type
- CARD-VASC/RESP FAIL. (12)
- Source of injury
- ELEC APPARAT/WIRING (15)
- Occupation
- Electronic repairers, communica. & indus. equip. (523)
- Human factor
- INSUFF/LACK/WRITN WRK PRAC PROG. (18)
- Environmental factor
- WORK-SURFACE/FACIL-LAYOUT COND (13)
- Task assigned
- Task not regularly assigned (2)
Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.