Lineman Apprentice Electrocuted in Indiana

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  While attempting to attach the wooden cross arm on a new utility pole under high wind conditions, an apprentice lineman was electrocuted. The new pole was being erected to provide additional service next to a shorter one whose lines were energized with 12 kilovolts of electricity. The company regulations require that insulating devices be used when working less than 4 feet from uninsulated energized conductors. After discussing this requirement with the experienced lineman on the ground, who was supervising the installation, the decision was made not to use any insulating devices. The distance between the face of the new pole and the existing power line was 42 inches. There were wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. While the victim was moving around the pole to finish attaching the cross arm, his back contacted the energized lines and he was electrocuted. Recommendations arising from this accident include the use of insulating devices such as lineguards, rubber line hoses, or other equipment in accordance with company policy, making safety concerns the job of all personnel on the job, offering additional training for linemen concerning the use of insulating devices, and evaluating the use of insulated boots or dielectrically tested overshoes with insulator devices on the side supports.
• Content Notes:
  Publication date provided by the authoring office. There is no publication date indicated on the resource.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Electric Injuries Electricity Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Electric-power-transmission-lines Electrical-shock Electrical-workers FACE-87-24 OSHA Region 5 Protective-equipment Safety-practices
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Electrocution
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE8724
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00174317
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-154760
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 87-24, 1987 Feb ; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  22 - Utilities - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1987/01/06
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0c6287c60c028cb7ac141755af653a5c7a5c3b0ab605e59e8fd1885ddabcbe136676f71009f018f3e05354c8b7227631feffda5aac845a09a886c4e417573f68
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164508/cdc_164508_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 240.54 KB ]