Lineman electrocuted on tower.
Authors
Nebraska Department of Labor
Source
Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 97NE030, 1997 Jul; :1-5
Abstract
A 55-year-old senior line technician was killed when a personal protective grounding jumper clamp came loose and came in contact with him, resulting in his electrocution. He and his crew were in the process of aligning suspension clamps which supported shield wires on the electrical transmission towers. He had climbed up an electrical transmission tower to perform the task and had attached his personal protective grounding jumper between the structure (clamp end) and the shield wire (hook end) and was aligning the suspension clamp for the shield wire. The 345,000 volt conductor lines, which are approximately 35 feet below the shield wire, were energized, which was normal for this procedure. The flat faced grounding clamp that was installed on a section of beveled angle iron on the tower structure became disconnected and contacted the victim resulting in his electrocution. The Nebraska Department of Labor investigator concluded that to prevent future similar occurrences employers should: 1. ensure employees attach personal protective grounding jumpers to appropriate attach points. 2. ensure information on proper grounding procedures for use with a flat faced grounding clamp are included in training. 3. consider implementing a company policy requiring that shirt tails must be tucked in when working in an environment where they could become caught in equipment (such as the grounding clamp in this incident).
Keywords
Region-7; Accident-analysis; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Work-operations; Work-analysis; Work-areas; Work-performance; Work-practices; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Protective-measures; Electric-power-transmission-lines; Electric-properties; Electrical-equipment; Electrical-fields; Electrical-hazards; Electrical-industry; Electrical-properties; Electrical-safety; Electrical-workers; Electricity; Electrocutions; Personal-protection; Personal-protective-equipment; Protective-equipment
Document Type
Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation
Funding Type
Cooperative Agreement
NTIS Accession No.
PB2011-100747
Identifying No.
FACE-97NE030; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-709864
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Performing Organization
Nebraska Department of Labor
