CAUSES OF ELECTRICAL ACCIDENTS
Electrical Safety
What Are The Leading Causes of Electrical Accidents?
Unsafe Acts
There are 2 reasons for unsafe acts:
- We know better but intentionally do something unsafe.
- We don't know better.
Avoid the following unsafe acts:
- Failure to de-energize, lockout & tagout hazards during maintenance, repair or inspections.
- Use of defective and unsafe tools.
- Use of tools or equipment too close to energized parts.
- Not draining off stored energy in capacitors.
- Using 3-wire cord with a 2-wire plug.
- Removing the third prong (ground pin) to make a 3-prong plug fit a 2-prong outlet.
- Overloading outlets with too many appliances.
- Using the attached electrical cord to raise or lower equipment.
- Not verifying power is off when making repair (drilling into a 110 Volt a.c. line can kill).
- Working in an elevated position near overhead lines.
Unsafe Equipment
Some common causes of unsafe equipment:
- Loose connections
- Faulty insulation
- Improper grounding (removal of 3rd prong)
- Use of "homemade" extension cords
- Defective parts
- Bare conductors or exposed terminals
- Metal parts of equipment may become energeized when connected by cord or plug. Capacitance may cause up to 55% of line voltage to be stored on the casing of metal tools.
Unguarded live parts--for example:
Hazardous Environments
Use special precautions when working in potentially hazardous environments and situations. Even an accidental static discharge can cause a fire or explosion in areas where the following are present:
- Flammable vapors, liquids and gasses
- Combustible dusts
- Corrosive atmospheres
- Explosive environments
- Poor housekeeping: blocked electrical boxes, flammable materials stored in equipment rooms, lack of proper hazard signs, excess clutter.