20-Year-Old Construction Worker Electrocuted when Backhoe Contacts 7200 Volt Power Line at Construction Site in Kentucky: FACE 85-32

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  A fatal accident circumstances and epidemiology (FACE) report on an electrocution in Kentucky was presented. The report was part of the NIOSH FACE project to collect data on accidents involving electricity or confined space/related fatalities. On July 9, 1985, the owner of a construction company was driving a crawler backhoe through a partially developed residential subdivision. The raised boom of the backhoe struck the bottom three lines of a four wire utility line, breaking a 40 foot utility pole approximately 70 feet from the point of contact. The top line, a 7,200 Volt single phase primary distribution line, fell to the ground after striking the rear of the backhoe. A 20 year old construction worker approaching the backhoe from behind was electrocuted when the 7,200 Volt line fell a few feet away from him. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The construction company had no written safety procedures. All safety training was on the job. The author recommends training employees to recognize hazards associated with operating equipment around power lines, using a signal worker to assist in performing tasks that may over extend the capabilities of an operator, and constantly evaluating construction sites for hazardous conditions.
• Content Notes:
  Publication date provided by the authoring office. There is no publication date indicated on the resource.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Construction Industry Electric Injuries Epidemiology Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-statistics Construction-industry Construction-Search Electrical-shock FACE-85-32 Hazards Health-hazards OSHA Region 4 Protective-measures Safety-research
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction ; Electrocution
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House) ; Worker Deaths by Electrocution: NIOSH 2000-115 ; Worker Deaths by Electrocution: NIOSH 98-131
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE8532
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• 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
• Volume:
  1985
• Issue:
  32
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00157534
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-224383
• 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 85-32, 1985 Jul ; :1-5
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1985/07/09
• Resource Number:
  FACE 85-32
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c8ebfc15cfc5bd01ea7b25f5d2fbb529c4fa86b91c326dedbc4c17a94b3bcd93a916ad3c2e47f652037b3711bc77ef879967268a1bc5bd4a8bed9979ca078609
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164597/cdc_164597_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 238.79 KB ]