Controlling Electrical Hazards

This booklet provides an overview of basic electrical safety on the job. Electricity is essential to modern life, both at home and on the job. Some employees — engineers, electricians, electronic technicians, and power line workers, among them — work with electricity directly. Others, such as office workers and sales people, work with it indirectly. Perhaps because it has become such a familiar part of our daily life, many of us don't give much thought to how much our work depends on a reliable source of electricity. More importantly, we tend to overlook the hazards electricity poses and fail to treat it with the respect it deserves.

Managing Electrical Safety provides an overview of electric basics, hazards, and established standards that enables you to understand the hazards you are likely to encounter in your workplace. Focusing on typical industrial environments—which utilize voltages much higher than household or office circuits—the author identifies the eight key components of an electrical safety program and examines each using a model safety management process. You'll learn how to identify electrical hazards, how to prescribe necessary electrical Personal Protective Equipment, how to ensure that equipment is de-energized, and how to safely plan for work on or around exposed live parts.

This student manual, developed by NIOSH, is part of a safety and health curriculum for secondary and post-secondary electrical trades courses. It is designed to engage the learner in recognizing, evaluating, and controlling hazards associated with electrical work. It was developed through extensive research with vocational instructors. Chapters: Electricity is Dangerous; Dangers of Electrical Shock; Burns Caused by Electricity (includes First Aid Fact Sheet); Overview of the Safety Model; Recognizing Hazards; Evaluating Hazards; Controlling Hazards: Safe Work Environment; and Controlling Hazards: Safe Work Practices. Glossary of Terms. Illustrations.

"This manual will present many topics. There are four main types of electrical injuries: electrocution (death due to electrical shock), electrical shock, burns, and falls. The dangers of electricity, electrical shock, and the resulting injuries will be discussed. The various electrical hazards will be described. You will learn about the safety model, an important tool for recognizing, evaluating, and controlling hazards. Important definitions and notes are shown in the margins. Practices that will help keep you safe and free of injury are emphasized. To give you an idea of the hazards caused by electricity, case studies about real-life deaths will be described. "--NIOSHTIC-2.