OSHA Inspection: FREDDIE RADCLIFF LAWN & TREE SERVICE

Issued

Sep 13, 2002

Abate by

Sep 19, 2002

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:
The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which
were free from
recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious
physical harm to
employees in that employee(s) were exposed to electrical hazard of
overhead power lines:
a)At a customer's residence, an employee doing yard work was trimming tree
limbs. He
was standing on an aluminum extension ladder that was set against a palm
tree, and was
trimming limbs with a manual pole saw.  A cut tree limb fell onto a nearby
7620 volt
overhead power line while the handheld uninsulated pole saw was still in
contact with the
tree limb, which exposed the employee to an electrical hazard on or about
April 15,
2002.
One feasible and acceptable abatement method, among others, is train
employees to
maintain a 10 foot clearance from overhead power lines, and to avoid
touching
any
electrically conductive objects such as live tree limbs or conductive hand
tools that are
within 10 feet of overhead power lines.  Employees should be provided
with, and
required to use, electrically insulative tools such as fiberglass ladders,
non-conductive
pole saws, etc whenever they are working in the vicinity of power lines.
When the tree
limbs are very close to, or are touching, the overhead power lines,
contact the electrical
utility company so that line clearance tree trimming crews may cut the
limbs away from
the power lines safely.
ABATEMENT VERIFICATION IS REQUIRED.

Issued

Sep 13, 2002

Abate by

Sep 19, 2002