Tree Trimmer Crew Leader Dies When He Contacts Energized Powerline in Puerto Rico

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program
• Description:
  A tree trimming crew was en route to a jobsite when they noticed that trees had fallen over a 4,000-volt powerline in front of a radio tower. The damage had been caused by Hurricane Hugo. Since all the powerlines in the area had been de-energized, the crew leader decided to clear the area in front of the radio tower. The crew cut and pruned the trees to clear the area, and upon finishing, returned to the truck while the crew leader made a final inspection of the work area. Crew members heard their leader cry out and ran to the worksite, where they found him lying on his back. No vital signs could be detected. Investigation revealed that although the powerlines had been de-energized, a gas station was using a portable gas-powered electric generator to supply electrical power to the gas pumps. Since the main circuit breaker at the gas station had not been opened, electrical current from the generator flowed back through the transformer and energized the powerline at the work area. When the victim contacted the powerline, his body provided a path to ground and he was electrocuted.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date supplied by FACE program
  
  date does not appear on report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Electric Injuries Electricity Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Electric-power-transmission-lines Electrical-hazards Electrical-shock Electrical-workers Injuries Injury-prevention Occupational-accidents Occupational-hazards Occupational-safety-programs OSHA Region 2 Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-programs Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Electrocution ; Landscaping Services
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE9002
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Puerto Rico ; OSHA Regtion 2
• 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:
  4 pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024484
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2005-102125
• Citation:
  Morgantown, : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1990
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1989/09/29
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:48c1b00bc6b3512f2e40fb29b86f84d05b4c7bd7dc5c7b77abf592d585cadc611fa4ebc10ecfabb5349c803216ca03f37f61061f99711fae8e1b9fc6dcb65519
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/167320/cdc_167320_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 15.78 KB ]