Apprentice Electrician Electrocuted while Wiring an Elevator Disconnect Switch - Massachusetts

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project (Massachusetts FACE) ; Massachusetts. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  On October 23, 2006, a 24-year-old male apprentice electrician was electrocuted by an energized 480-volt, three-phase circuit while permanently wiring a heavy duty disconnect switch for a new elevator. The supply side of the disconnect switch had three energized wires fed into it through the switch's top mechanical lugs. At the time of the incident, the victim had just finished disconnecting the three energized wires from the switch's top mechanical lugs and came in contact with an energized source, either a wire or the switch housing, and was electrocuted. A co-worker noticed a bright flash and, upon investigating the source of the flash, found the victim slumped on the ground of the elevator mechanical room. The co-worker yelled for help and started to attend to the victim. A second co-worker entered the elevator mechanical room and then placed a call for emergency medical services (EMS). Both co-workers administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until the arrival of EMS a few minutes later. The local police and fire departments were also notified and responded to the incident site. EMS transported the victim to a local hospital were the victim was pronounced dead. The Massachusetts FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar occurrences in the future, employers should: 1. Ensure that electrical circuits and equipment are de-energized and that lockout/tagout procedures are implemented and enforced prior to beginning work
  
  In addition, general contractors, when feasible, should: 2. Ensure that elevators are permanently wired during installation.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Electric Injuries Electricity Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Safety Safety Management Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Electrical-hazards Electrical-industry Electrical-properties Electrical-safety Electrical-systems Electrical-workers Electrocutions Injury-prevention Occupational-accidents Occupational-hazards OSHA Region 1 Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction ; Electrocution
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE06MA043
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035930
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-113204
• Citation:
  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 06MA043, 2008 Dec ; :1-7
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ee8f384136f089a963a411ea9399a06887a94541495a1a5bbc9e7dd0eea0543bdddbc45c1df3770b8f082bda7ea3cd1a1eb82b12289dca0c72235fb778ded537
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165317/cdc_165317_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 161.51 KB ]