OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14423909
UNION ELECTRIC COMPANY
ST. LOUIS, MO·
Event description
BURN - ELECTRICAL FAULT IN LOAD BREAK DISCONNECT
Investigation abstract
AN ELECTRIC UTILITY EMPLOYEE WAS PLACING A 4-KILOVOLT TRANSFORMER BACK INTO SERV ICE FOLLOWING A MAINTENANCE CHECK. AN ELECTRIC ARC FORMED AT THE LOAD BREAK DISC ONNECT, RELEASING A FIRE BALL THAT BLEW OUT THE VIEWING GLASS PANEL. THE EMPLOYE E, WHO WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE PANEL, RECEIVED THE FULL FORCE OF THE FIREBA LL. HE DIED AFTER RECEIVING BURNS OVER 90 PERCENT OF HIS BODY.
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 36 Male
- Nature of injury
- Burn/Scald(Heat) (5)
- Part of body
- MULTIPLE (19)
- Accident type
- CARD-VASC/RESP FAIL. (12)
- Source of injury
- FIRE/SMOKE (16)
- Occupation
- Electrical power installers and repairers (577)
- Human factor
- POSITION INAPROPRIATE FOR TASK (10)
- Environmental factor
- FLAMMABLE LIQ/SOLID EXPOSURE (10)
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
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.