Utility company employee electrocuted in California while drilling under a road.
Source
NIOSH 1985 Oct; :1-8
Abstract
A fatal accident circumstances and epidemiology (FACE) report describing an electrocution in California was presented. The report was part of the NIOSH FACE project to collect data on electricity or confined space/related accidents involving fatalities. On July 18, 1985, a three member crew of a gas utility company was assigned to provide new service to an apartment building that was under construction. The crew was attempting to bore under the sidewalk and under the street using an air driven machine. The drill contacted a 4,160 Volt power line. One crewman was electrocuted and another suffered third degree burns on his hands and shoulders. The third crew member felt a shock in his hands and released the equipment. The victim had burn marks on both hands and the front of his right thigh and was pronounced dead at a local hospital after resuscitation efforts failed. The underground electric lines had not been marked by the local municipality. Recommendations include making a thorough survey of the job site prior to excavating or drilling, excavating and exposing all service utility lines, and including hazard recognition training and followup reports of previous accidents in the company's safety program.
Keywords
NIOSH-Author; Electrical-industry; Region-9; Accident-analysis; Exposure-levels; Hazards; Physiological-measurements; Biological-effects; Epidemiology; Electrical-shock; FACE-85-42
Document Type
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation; Field Studies
NTIS Accession No.
PB86-224466
Identifying No.
FACE-85-42
Source Name
Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Morgantown, West Virginia, Report No. FACE-85-42-I, 8 pages
