Worker Electrocuted in Mushroom Cannery in Ohio

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  A fatal accident circumstances and epidemiology report on an accident involving an electrocution is presented. The report is part of a NIOSH project in which data on accidents involving electrocutions and those occurring in confined spaces are collected. On March 5, 1985, a 21 year old male worker in a mushroom cannery slipped on a wet floor drain and fell, striking the electrical wiring conduit to a motor housing with his hand. The conduit was pulled loose by the impact, causing the 3 phase 220 Volt circuit to go to ground through his body. The victim was in contact with the current for about 15 seconds. Two coworkers attempting to help the victim received shocks. Another worker deenergized the equipment and the victim fell face down into the water. Medical personnel arrived 8 minutes after the accident and attempted to revive the victim. The worker was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. Factors contributing to the accident included badly deteriorated insulation on the cable conductors, contact of the cable with rusted sharp edges of the motor connection box, no strain relief holding the power cable in place, accumulation of 4 inches of water around the drain, and the worker not wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. Recommendations include installing ground fault circuit interruptors, inspecting and modifying the electrical system of the facility, and requiring individuals working with electrical equipment to wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
• Content Notes:
  Publication date provided by the authoring office. There is no publication date indicated on the resource.
• Subjects:
  Electric Injuries Electricity Occupational Health Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Canning-industry Electrical-charge Electrical-hazards FACE-85-11 Health-sciences Health-standards OSHA Region 5 Safety-measures Safety-research Workers
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Electrocution
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE8511
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:00155121
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-224433
• 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 85-11, 1985 Mar ; :1-5
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1985/03/05
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:81906000182a2cf56f38010753b8e0a3083723e2b08cd08d427cc2a4a2a66dd9e0d785fb8ddc0d21f04db3974ca85ead78029d474cc21c53019eea8a74573868
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164605/cdc_164605_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 221.36 KB ]