A General Electric employee and a Centerpoint Energy employee were injured in a shock incident inside their work truck.  There are rules in OSHA 1910.269 and the NESC about mobile equipment in proximity to power lines.  Many different things can happen in the work place.  Often we find human error is at play in these incidents.  We [...]

One of the things I have pointed out for years but most folks still don’t understand is that shocks (especially high voltage or high amerage shocks) often include an electric arc element.  In the old days, electrical contacts almost always had more burns associated with them than today (Not to minimize shock.  It kills far more [...]

DOE is one of the toughest on electrical safety.  Bechtel has a good rep too.  Shows improvements can happen anywhere and that programs can slip when training slips.
Click here to read the story about an arc flash in the Knoxville News Sentinel.

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According to the article this was probably an arc flash and they WERE wearing flame resistant (arc-rated) clothing.  Most likely these folks will live will little long terms effects.  When clothing doesn’t ignite workers are typically not hurt badly.  The NESC and OSHA 1910.269 apply here so they should be wearing arc-rated clothing and the [...]

This incident is either a utility contractor or worker most likely.  Breaking news but not clear if the worker was shocked by some backfeed source or an energized line.  This type of work is covered under OSHA 1910.269 for law and the consensus standard is the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). 
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This is a fairly common scene in spring and fall.  Powerlines and ladders or powerwashers.  Workers MUST be trained when working near powerlines, even home lines.  This is even something which commonly kills homeowners unaware.
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The story cites this as an electrocution but that is terminology normally reserved for fatalities.  It is common for workers in cable lines etc who are used to being “near” powerlines to make a mistake and get into one.
Read the Fox News article.

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This story doesn’t say if clothing ignited.  CPS in San Antonio, TX is in arc rated clothing most of the time.  These types of exposures are covered by OSHA 1910.269 and NESC.  Both require hazard assessment.  NESC 2007 requires protection from reasonable estimate of the energy and arc rated clothing.  More later.
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The story says this worker was alive, burned but incoherent.  This is possibly a sign of an arc flash rather than a contact with a powerline.  Many companies and workers don’t really understand the hazards of working near electrical parts or powerlines.
The article calls this an electrocution (which is most commonly defined as fatal electrical contact).  [...]

Sad another fatality which used to be common in the US. Grounding has almost totally eliminated these. The US OSHA 1910.269 legally required grounding in most medium voltage to high voltage applications or the worker must consider the conductors energized. Additionally arc rated clothing has been shown to save some shock victims. [...]