Fatality Narrative: Apprentice Lineman Electrocuted After Contacting Underground Primary Cable

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On March 1, 2006, an apprentice lineman was electrocuted after making contact with an energized underground cable. The 24-year-old victim had worked with his current employer for 2 ½ years. His employer was a high voltage utility contractor working as a subcontractor for an electric utility company on a project to replace underground cable. At about 10:15 PM a four person line crew, including the victim, was working on a section of underground primary cable in a concrete vault. The workers had tested and grounded all the old cables but not the three new cables located at the bottom of the electrical vault. They removed the old high voltage cables and modules and had begun to install new high voltage modules. During this procedure the employees discovered that one of the primary 7,200 volt underground elbows needed to be rotated 180 degrees in order to be installed on the new high voltage module. The victim used a probe wrench to rotate the elbow and while doing so made contact with an energized 7,200 volt cable. The victim was electrocuted and died at the scene. A second employee was blown clear and received injuries for which he was hospitalized. An investigation of the incident determined that 1) the primary underground cables were never tested and grounded; 2) the crew assumed that the new primary underground wires were numbered correctly and that the cable numbers went to the correct underground vault location; 3) the three-phase transformer bank in the vault that had the primary underground conductor replaced the previous week was never checked to see if it was re-energized after the scheduled power outage. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Education Electric Injuries Electricity Mortality Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Electrical Safety Electrical Shock Employees Equipment Operation Fatalities Hazards Protective Equipment Protective Measures Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051755
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-53-2006, 2006 Dec; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: apprentice lineman electrocuted after contacting underground primary cable
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f1ccc6dbd862e22f2a999539f7cfda60334884450e80264de5282b3f5707a9519ddb6d694208cc8dc29501050b0d11cf241b6ebb65379d1dc82bcc2a063a5975
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228820/cdc_228820_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 62.87 KB ]