Other Hazards

The industries with the highest number of electrocutions were construction, followed by manufacturing, transportation, communications, and public utilities. Although the workers in these industries are not employees of the electric power generation, transmission, and distribution industry, they often work near energized power lines. This subjects them to the risk of electrocution when:

• A boomed vehicle, truck, or other vehicle comes into contact with electric power distribution or transmission lines,
• A ladder or scaffold comes into contact with electric power distribution or transmission lines,
• A backhoe or other digging device comes into contact with underground electric power distribution or transmission lines, or
• A worker makes bodily contact with electric power distribution or transmission lines.

Cable Installers

• See OSHA's Electric Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Industry - Construction Page.

Construction Workers

• See OSHA's Electric Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Industry - Construction Page.

Tree Trimmers

• Tree Trimming/Removal Worker Electrocuted after Making Indirect Contact With a 8000 Volt Overhead Power Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report 92MN012, (September 15, 1992). A tree trimming/removal worker was electrocuted when she made indirect contact with an 8,000-volt overhead power line.

Truck Drivers

• A 29 Year Old Truck Driver/Delivery Man Was Electrocuted When The Aluminum Pole Brush He Was Holding Came In Contact With A 14,000 Volt Overhead Transmission Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report 92WI08901.

Other

• Hurricane Preparedness and Response. OSHA. Includes information such as news releases, public service announcements, fact sheets, frequently asked questions, and more.
• Fatal Incident Summary Report: Electrocution of a Painter. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report 83-09. A 22-year-old painter working on an electrical transmission tower accidentally contacted a grounding line that had a static charge.
• Municipal Utility Worker Electrocuted When a Backhoe Strikes an Underground Electrical Transmission Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) New Jersey Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report 95NJ061, (November 20, 1995). A 28-year-old municipal utility worker was electrocuted when a backhoe struck a 4,100-volt underground electrical transmission line.
• One Firefighter Electrocuted and One Seriously Injured When An Aluminum Extension Ladder Contacts a 7,600 Volt Overhead Power Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) New Jersey Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report 93NJ062, (June 24, 1993). A 47-year-old firefighter was electrocuted and a second firefighter was seriously injured while positioning a 35-foot aluminum extension ladder at a fire scene. The ladder fell back and contacted a 7,600-volt overhead power line, electrocuting the victim and critically injuring a second firefighter.
• For more information about other occupations and other reports, see NIOSH's Electrical Safety Workplace Safety and Health Topics Page.

Safety References

Workers who will be performing work within the minimum approach distances of power lines established in [29 CFR 1910.269(r)(1)(iii)], training them solely in the use of personal protective equipment such as rubber gloves and sleeves alone will not satisfy the training requirements of 29 CFR 1910.269. The employees must be either (1) trained as qualified employees, or (2) must be undergoing on-the-job training, have demonstrated an ability to perform duties safely at their level of training, and be under the direct supervision of a qualified employee.

Apparel

• Guidelines for the Enforcement of the Apparel Standard, 29 CFR 1910.269(l)(6). OSHA Standard Interpretation, (August 10, 1995). When work is performed within reaching distance of exposed energized parts of equipment, the employee should remove all exposed conductive articles, such as key or watch chains, rings, or wrist watches or bands. Clothing made from acetate, nylon, polyester, or rayon, either alone or in blends, is prohibited unless the employer can demonstrate that the fabric has been treated to withstand the conditions that may be encountered.

Fall Protection

• OSHA's requirements for locking type snaphooks on pole strap systems. OSHA Standard Interpretation, (March 13, 1996). Provides an interpretation of fall protection requirements under 29 CFR 1910.269. The fall protection requirements under paragraph 29 CFR 1910.269(g) do not apply to rural electric cooperatives connecting electrical service to a consumer's home to install electric line attachments. However, the fall protection requirements under paragraph 29 CFR 1910.23(c)(1) do apply to such a workplace application.

Minimum Approach Distance

• Clarification of 1910.269 as applied to line-clearance tree-trimming operations. OSHA Letter of Interpretation, (April 26, 1999). Provides a clarification of line-clearance tree-trimming work. The employees must be either (1) trained as qualified employees, or (2) must be "undergoing on-the-job training," have "demonstrated an ability to perform duties safely at [their] level of training," and be "under the direct supervision of a qualified [employee]."
• Permit space entry. OSHA Letter of Interpretation, (August 8, 1994). Provides a response to a question about what confined space entry requirements apply to subcontractors who perform work (not involving power generation, transmission, or distribution) in utility company manholes and vaults.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Report

• Worker Deaths by Electrocution: A Summary of Surveillance Findings and Investigative Case Reports. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 98-131, (May 1998). Reports the industries with the highest percentage of electrocutions were construction (40%), transportation, communication, and public utilities (16%), and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (11%).