Landscaper Electrocuted and Two Workers Seriously Injured When a Felled Tree Landed on an Overhead Power Line

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bost, Patrick ; Bresnitz, Eddy A. ; Ludwig, Gary ; O'Hagan, Emily ; Schill, Donald P. ; Valiante, David J.
• Corporate Authors:
  New Jersey Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Project (NJ FACE) ; New Jersey. Department of Health and Senior Services. Occupational Health Service
• Description:
  On October 18, 2001, a 21-year-old landscaper was electrocuted when a felled tree landed on an overhead power line and caused the power line to drop. A landscaping company had subcontracted to take down 110 trees and clear the area for a parking lot. The company hired two experienced tree trimmers to assist with tree removal. When they felled a 65-foot oak tree, one of the branches caught onto the 69,000-volt power line that was 29 feet above the ground. The porcelain insulators on the adjacent supporting utility poles broke and the power line dropped to within a few feet from the ground. The company owner's 21-year-old son was electrocuted, and two workers (including the company owner) were seriously injured by the electric current. NJ FACE investigators concluded that, to prevent similar incidents, these safety guidelines should be followed: 1. A knowledgeable person should assess each work site for safety hazards and design a work plan that addresses those hazards. 2. The employer should conduct a job briefing, based on the work plan, before starting work. 3. The employer should establish a written safety and health policy. 4. Safe tree removal techniques should be used. 5. Employers should notify the utility company when work is planned in an area near overhead power lines. 6. Employers and employees should become familiar with available resources on safety standards and safe work practices.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Electric Injuries Electricity Forestry Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Safety Safety Management Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Electric-properties Electrical-conductivity Electrical-hazards Electrical-safety Electrocutions Forestry-workers Injuries Injury-prevention Occupational-accidents Occupational-hazards OSHA Region 2 Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-practices Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-environment Work-performance Work-practices

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Prevention through Design (PtD) ; Landscaping Services
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE01NJ117
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  14 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026709
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-112430
• 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 01NJ117, 2002 Oct ; :1-14
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Performing Organization:
  New Jersey Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2005/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:316d6185c50950d16319c02343ebf034352958d1b68c5ebcdab2fa44e0319327f4626c8af2964eace8aac6b3c4660652e14f27f91d2ad19c72262800e2210b09
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169228/cdc_169228_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 90.79 KB ]