Painter Electrocuted When Metal Ladder Contacts a Powerline–Virginia

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program
• Description:
  A painter was electrocuted when the metal ladder he was moving contacted an overhead powerline. The 21-year-old male painter had been employed for 2 days by a small general contracting company. The company had been contracted to repaint a two-story wooden private residence. The day of the accident was his second day of employment. A 40-foot aluminum extension ladder was being used at the job site. The ladder was extended to 26 feet 2 inches and positioned on the east side of the residence. A three-phase overhead power line system was located 24 feet above ground level, 10 feet way from and parallel to one side of the residence. At 9pm the workers were cleaning up the jobsite and work materials. The victim had been instructed earlier in the day not to move the ladder. However, he began to move it now, pulling it from the side of the building, standing it upright. The ladder contacted the overhead lines, electrocuting the victim. Recommendations included eliminating the use of conductive ladders near energized electrical conductors, having utility companies deenergize or cover powerlines when work is being performed near them, and developing and implementing safety programs. Manufacturers should consider the use of nonconducting materials in ladders.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Construction Industry Electric Injuries Electricity Occupational Health Paint Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Construction-Search Electrical-hazards Extension-ladders FACE-92-27 OSHA Region 3 Painters Safety-practices
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction ; Electrocution
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE9227
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  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:
  4 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00213108
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB93-188324
• 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:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1992/07/09
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:070bfbba804c95ec4dc75bb1c69d4c5b9b51ea95af5c3509ca5b758c18a08a18d07fc1d4e4276cc4ea4e4e00ec01089dd0b0dce0276f0cb148996c7956249d09
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/167518/cdc_167518_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 351.51 KB ]