A construction company in England was fined when an employee was seriously injured while using a drill to beak-up concrete to erect a sign.  The drill pierced a 415 volt underground cable, resulting in an electrical explosion and serious burns to the employee. Click here to read the Solicitor’s article dated 3/30/12.

In 2012, OSHA will be targeting the wind-energy industry with one of its National Emphasis Programs (NEP) due to several arc-flash events associated with wind turbines.  OSHA reports 32 arc-flash accident investigations that occurred in 2009 at wind farms. Click here to read the article dated 3/13/12.

January, 2012: A UK investment firm has been fined after employees were injured in an electrical accident.  The two employees cut through a 1kV electrical cable while trying to locate a water leak. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the firm had not assessed the risks and failed to provide a safe work [...]

Three men were injured after a transformer exploded while they were replacing an above ground power vault.   One of the injured is an employee of Anaheim Public Utilities and the other two were under contract with the City of Anaheim. All three were hospitalized.  Police report that their clothing caught fire in the explosion. Oct. 26, 2011 [...]

A Jamestown, NY Utility worker was critically injured while working in an underground vault to restore a power outage.  He was badly burned during an arc flash, receiving burns to his hands, face and upper chest.  He was transported to the hospital and listed in critical condition. Click here to read more about Arc Flash [...]

The two men, who were working for a geotechnical drilling company, where using a penetrometer to test soil density when the penetrometer came into contact with a 6600-volt cable what was buried about 60cm below the surface. One employee suffered burns to his legs and up his front and  the more seriously injured man received burns to ~10% [...]

Four electricians and an engineer were working on an electrical installation in an underground mine when an explosion resulted in their death.  The cause of death is still under investigation, but may have been related to methane. From my experience this is VERY likely to have been an arc flash but could have ignited methane. Click [...]

Two Baltimore  construction workers were burned in an underground explosion and electrical fire while working in a manhole.  They both sustained first and second degree burns.  One was taken to a trauma center and the other to a burn center.    The cause of the arc flash is under investigation. Click here to read more about arc flash [...]

Two West Auckland workers were hospitalized with burns sustained when the 11Kv underground cable they were working on exploded.  Fortunately, although the workers were both hospitalized for treatment of burns, the injuries are not considered life-threatening. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Click here to read more about the New Zealand Arc Flash

According to the report, an arc flash, that occurred in a steam tunnel on the OSU campus, delivered a 1,000 degree heat burst that sparked a fire in the tunnels which resulted in melting of cables and fiber optics systems within the tunnel.  At least 26 buildings experienced problems with electrical power, phone service and/or computer [...]