Lineman electrocuted when he contacts a 7200-volt powerline while installing a guy wire in North Carolina, March 5, 1990.
Source
NIOSH 1990 Jul; :1-6
Abstract
This report concerned the death of a 30 year old male journeyman lineman who was electrocuted while installing a guy wire. His employer was an electrical contractor that had been contracted to install a new single phase 7200 volt powerline by the local electrical cooperative. The lineman had previously insulated the existing powerline by placing a protective line hose over the line on each side of the utility pole. On the day of the accident, the victim was told to place more line hoses on the existing line, and attach a guy wire to an anchor on the new utility pole. The victim intended to further insulate the existing line after he installed the guy wire. He was not wearing linemen's gloves or sleeves. The victim pulled the guy wire into the aerial bucket and stood on it as he raised the bucket. When he reached the guy wire anchor, he began to loosen the anchor nut closest to the existing line. The victim's right arm contacted the line 3 inches beyond the insulated line hose, and the current passed through the guy wire to ground. His clothes caught fire, and the powerline burned in two. It is recommended that all energized components of an electrical system that might be contacted directly or indirectly by a worker be insulated before any work is performed; and that employers should ensure that established company safety procedures are followed at all times.
Keywords
NIOSH-Author; Region-4; FACE-90-27; Accident-analysis; Electrical-hazards; Occupational-accidents; Electric-power-transmission-lines
Document Type
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation; Field Studies
NTIS Accession No.
PB92-184126
Identifying No.
FACE-90-27
Source Name
Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Morgantown, West Virginia, Report Number FACE-90-27, 6 pages
