Safety
Toolbox
Talk
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Presenter/Date:
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
NFPA 70E & Arc Flash
Electricians perform tasks that put them at
risk
. Electrocution, Shock, Burns and
Falls are injuries employees working around
electrical systems encounter. 90% of the deaths
that occur in the electrical industry are the result of
shock while 80% of the injuries are the result of
Arc Flash. The severity of shock will depend on
the path the electricity takes through the body, the
amount of current and the length of time the
person is exposed. Protecting yourself can be a
matter of disrupting any of these three items
through engineered controls, safe work practices
or personal protective equipment.
Protecting yourself against the effects of
arc flash takes a combination of work practices
and proper selection of personal protective
equipment in either daily wear fire resistant (FR)
clothing or donning the appropriate Arc flash
clothing selected based on arc flash calculations
everyday
,
a
or Table 130.7(C)(9)(a) in NFPA 70E. The
temperature of an arc event can exceed 35,000
degrees, immediately igniting or melting a
worker’s clothing.
Control of electrical hazards in the
workplace may be managed through training and
enforcing safe, consistent work practices. Lock
out/tag out programs, electrical hazard
identification and site specific-task specific
policies are examples of how employers may
address electrical safety in the workplace.
Consult 29 CFR 1910.331-335 for more information on
OSHA’s electrical safe work practice standards.
Work Sa
fe!
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: .29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1) -
Evaluation of workplace hazards, NEC Section 110.16 - Labeling
requirements for “other than dwelling units,” 29 CFR