OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #693630
ELEC PROTECT EQUIP,ELECTRICAL,ELECTRICIAN,ELECTROCUTED,LOCKOUT,E PTD,ELEC UTILITY WORK,ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR,UNTRAINED
Event description
ELECTRIC SHOCK - DIRECT CONTACT WITH ENERGIZED PARTS
Investigation abstract
TWO EMPLOYEES (AN ELECTRICIAN AND HIS HELPER) WERE ASSIGNED TO ISOLATE AND REPAI E CUTTERS TO CUT THE "A" PHASE IN ONE PLACE AND THE "B" PHASE IN TWO PLACES. HE THEN INSERTED A 50-AMPERE CIRCUIT BREAKER IN EACH CONDUCTOR TO SEE IF THE CIRCUI TS WOULD OPEN. NOT FINDING THE FAULT AT THIS LOCATION, THE ELECTRICIAN WENT DOWN THE EXCHANGE TO THE NEXT JUNCTION BOX, TO EMPLOY SIMILAR ISOLATION PROCEDURES. HE LEFT HIS HELPER, WHO HAD NO ELECTRICAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND WHO HAD INSUF FICIENT TRAINING IN STANDARD SAFETY PRACTICES, TO SPLICE THE EXPOSED PHASE CONDU CTORS. THE HELPER APPLIED METAL SLEEVES TO THE "B" PHASE CONDUCTOR AND, WORKING FROM THE BACK SIDE OF THE JUNCTION BOX, CRIMPED ONE OF THE SLEEVES. WORKING FROM A KNEELING OR PRONE POSITION ON SLIGHTLY DAMP GROUND, HE THEN PROCEEDED TO APPL Y INSULATING TAPE TO THIS SPLICE. AT THIS TIME, THE HELPER APPARENTLY DROPPED HI R A ROADWAY LIGHTING SYSTEM FAULT PREVIOUSLY TRACED TO AN ELECTRICAL SERVICE ON S ROLL OF TAPE INTO THE JUNCTION BOX. AS HE REACHED INTO THE BOX WITH HIS LEFT A RM TO RETRIEVE THE TAPE, HIS LEFT ARM CONTACTED THE EXPOSED 277-VOLT "B" PHASE C ONDUCTOR WHILE HIS LEFT COLLARBONE WAS IN CONTACT WITH A METAL GUARDRAIL ABOUT 1 5 INCHES ABOVE THE JUNCTION BOX. THE ELECTRICIAN FOUND THE HELPER SOME MINUTES L ATER LAID OUT ACROSS THE BOX WITH HIS HEAD ON THE EDGE OF THE SPLICE BOX AND WIT H BOTH ARMS INSIDE THE BOX. THE ELECTRICIAN KNOCKED THE ENERGIZED CONDUCTOR AWAY FROM THE HELPER, CALLED FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ON HIS VEHICLE'S RADIO, AND DE ENERGIZED THE CIRCUIT. IT WAS TOO LATE, HOWEVER; THE HELPER HAD BEEN ELECTROCUTE D. AN INTERSTATE EXCHANGE. THE TWO EMPLOYEES INITIATED THE ISOLATION PROCESS AT THE SERVICE SPLICE BOX, A RECESSED CONCRETE JUNCTION BOX ABOUT 18 INCHES BY 42 INCH ES AND 36 INCHES DEEP. THE JUNCTION BOX CONTAINED THREE PHASE CONDUCTORS (277 VO LTS PHASE TO GROUND, 480 VOLTS PHASE TO PHASE) AND ONE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR. THE CO NDUCTORS WERE ENERGIZED AT THE TIME REPAIRS WERE BEING MADE. A GROUNDING CONDUCT OR ATTACHED TO A DRIVEN GROUND ROD WAS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE JUNCTION BOX, GROUND ING SOME OF THE CONDUITS ENTERING ONE SIDE OF THE BOX. THE ELECTRICIAN USED CABL
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 25 M
- Nature of injury
- 10
- Part of body
- 2
- Event type
- 13
- Source
- 15
- Occupation code
- 576
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 13
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.