CDC STACKS serves as an archival repository of CDC-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other public health information authored or co-authored by CDC or funded partners.
As a repository, CDC STACKS retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
i
A 24-Year-Old Farm Laborer Dies When the Aluminum Irrigation Pipe He is Handling Contacts a High Voltage Line
-
1996/12/15
[PDF-14.67 KB]
Details:
-
Personal Author:
-
Corporate Authors:
-
Description:On June 15, 1996 at approximately 8:30 in the morning, two farm hands were installing a siderow sprinkler system. The system consists of 30-foot long sections of gated aluminum pipe that are connected to the pumping system. While relocating a section of pipe, the two workers lifted it to a vertical position to clear the pipe of accumulated sediment. The pipe contacted a 7200-volt power line that ran along the edge of the field. The power line was 27 feet above ground level at the location where the pipe contacted the line. Both workers experienced an electrical shock. One of the workers failed to recover and was pronounced dead upon arrival at a local hospital. The second worker was hospitalized overnight for observation and released the next day. The circumstances of this fatality are very similar to others that have occurred in Colorado in the past eight years. In response to these fatalities, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) prepared a Hazard Alert summarizing some of these incidents and recommendations for prevention. Warning labels were also printed for statewide distribution. The recommendations from the Hazard Alert are listed below. A copy of the entire Alert is attached to this report. Recommendations: 1. Place a label on all sections of aluminum pipe that warns of the potential electrocution hazard. 2. Inspect and clean all pipes for installation in an area free of over-head power lines. 3. Flag a 30-foot area on either side of the power line during the installation process to alert workers they are in a danger zone and that pipes should not be raised to a vertical position within this area. 4. Select plastic pipes when an irrigation system is purchased or replaced. 5. Install power lines to pumps underground when new service is requested or existing service is relocated. 6. The employer should conduct a work-site survey on a regular basis to assess the potential safety hazards. Once an assessment has been completed, written safety rules and procedures should be developed, implemented, and enforced. Training should then be provided to employees that specifically addresses all identified hazards.
-
Content Notes:Publication Date provided by FACE program; not printed on the report.
-
Subjects:
-
Keywords:
-
FACE - NIOSH and State:
-
Series:
-
Subseries:
-
DOI:
-
Publisher:
-
Document Type:
-
Funding:
-
Genre:
-
Place as Subject:
-
CIO:
-
Topic:
-
Location:
-
Pages in Document:5 pdf pages
-
NIOSHTIC Number:20028600
-
NTIS Accession Number:PB2009-100518
-
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 96CO029, 1996 Dec; :1-5
-
Federal Fiscal Year:1997
-
Performing Organization:Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
-
Peer Reviewed:False
-
NAICS and SIC Codes:
-
Start Date:1992/09/30
-
End Date:1997/09/29
-
Resource Number:FACE-96CO029
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
