Laborer electrocuted in Tennessee, October 23, 1986.
Source
NIOSH 1986 Dec; :1-4
Abstract
A laborer was unloading sewer pipe from a flatbed truck and was electrocuted when the boom cable of a truck mounted crane contacted an overhead high voltage line. A crane truck was backed up to the rear of the flatbed and the victim was to help position the sewer pipes on the ground and unhook the wire rope choker from the pipes after the crane operator lowered them to the ground. After the third pipe had been lowered to the ground, the victim was positioning it by grasping the pipe and wire rope choker and pulling. The boom cable contacted the overhead power line and a blue flame arced between the pipe the victim was holding and the pipes which were previously unloaded. Advanced cardiac life support was begun within 8 to 10 minutes, but the victim could not be resuscitated. He was employed by a large construction company which held safety meetings weekly on job sites. Recommendations arising from this accident included the enforcement of all regulations concerning crane operations in the vicinity of overhead power lines, using an observer to help crane operators maintain the required clearance from overhead power lines, exercising extreme care when working with extensible, hydraulic booms near high voltage lines, and establishing contract requirements incorporating safety into their planning when construction projects are undertaken.
Keywords
NIOSH-Author; Region-4; FACE-87-13; Construction-industry; Construction-workers; Electrical-hazards; Electric-power-transmission-lines; Electrical-shock; Safety-practices; Accident-analysis; Construction-Search
Document Type
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation; Field Studies
NTIS Accession No.
PB88-154448
Identifying No.
FACE-87-13
Source Name
Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Morgantown, West Virginia, Report No. FACE-87-13, 4 pages
