11/09/2017

Hazards of Electricity

 Electrical Hazards Include

 Electrical Shock

 Electrical Explosions

 Electrical Burns

 These can result in severe injury or death

Electrical Injuries

There are four main types of electrical injuries:

 Direct:
 Electrocution or death due to electrical shock
 Electrical shock
 Burns

• Indirect - Falls

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Electrical Shock
An electrical shock is received when electrical
current passes through the body.
body.

You will get an electrical shock if a part of your

body completes an electrical circuit by… by…

 Touching a live wire and an electrical ground,

ground,
or
 Touching a live wire and another wire at a
different voltage.

electricity requires a complete path (circuit) to continuously flow

Without two contact points on the body for current to enter and exit, respectively, there
is no hazard of shock. This is why birds can safely rest on high-voltage power lines
without getting shocked: they make contact with the circuit at only one point.

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Shock Severity
 Severity of the shock depends on:

 Path of current through the body

 Amount of current flowing through
the body (amps)
 Duration of the shocking current
through the body,
body,

 LOW VOLTAGE DOES NOT

MEAN LOW HAZARD

Dangers of Electrical Shock

 Currents above 10 mA* can
paralyze or “freeze”
muscles.
 Currents more than 75 mA
can cause a rapid,
ineffective heartbeat --
death will occur in a few
minutes unless a
defibrillator is used Defibrillator in use

 75 mA is not much current

– a small power drill uses
30 times as much
* mA = milliampere = 1/1,000 of an ampere

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How Shock Occurs

The severity of the shock received when a person becomes a
part of an electric circuit is affected by three primary factors:
• The amount of current flowing through the body
(measured in amperes)
• The path of the current through the body
• The length of time the body is in the circuit.
Other factors that may affect the severity of shock are the:
• Frequency of the current;
current;
• Phase of the heart cycle when shock occurs
• General health of the person.
person.

Shock & the Human Body

• The effects of electric shock depend upon the

type of circuit, its voltage, resistance, current,
pathway through the body, and duration of the
contact.

• Effects can range from a barely perceptible tingle

to immediate cardiac arrest.

• There are no absolute limits or even known

values that show the exact injury from any given
current..
current

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Shock & the Human Body

• Abetween
difference of less than 100 milliamperes exists
a current that is barely perceptible and
one that can kill.
• Muscular contraction caused by stimulation may
not allow the victim to free himself or herself
from the circuit,
circuit, and the increased duration of
exposure increases the dangers to the shock victim.
• For example, a current of 100 milliamperes for 3
seconds is equivalent to a current of 900
milliamperes applied for .03 seconds in causing
ventricular fibrillation.

Shock & the Human Body

• The so-
so-called low voltages can be extremely
dangerous because, all other factors being
equal, the degree of injury is
proportional to the length of time the body is
in the circuit.
• LOW VOLTAGE DOES NOT IMPLY
LOW HAZARD!

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Shock & the Human Body

• A severe shock can cause considerably
more damage to the body than is visible.
visible.
• For example, a person may suffer internal
hemorrhages and destruction of tissues,
tissues,
nerves, and muscles.
• In addition, shock is often only the beginning
in a chain of events.
events.
• The final injury may well be from a fall, cuts,
burns, or broken bones.

Shock & the Human Body

Current / Reaction:
• 1 Milliampere / Perception level. Just a faint tingle.
• 5 Milliamperes / Slight shock felt; not painful but disturbing.
• Average individual can let go. However, strong involuntary reactions to
shocks in this range can lead to injuries.

• 6-25 Milliamperes (women) / Painful shock, muscular control is lost.

• 9-30 Milliamperes (men) / This is called the freezing current or "let-
range.
"let-go"

• 50--150 Milliamperes / Extreme pain, respiratory arrest, severe muscular

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contractions.*
Individual cannot let go. Death is possible.
• 1,000--4,300 Milliamperes Ventricular fibrillation. (The rhythmic pumping
1,000
action of the heart ceases.) Muscular contraction and nerve damage
occur. Death is most likely.
• 10,000--Milliamperes Cardiac arrest, severe burns and probable death.
10,000

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Shock & the Human Body

BODILY EFFECT DIRECT CURRENT (DC) 60 Hz AC 10 kHz AC
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Slight sensation Men =1.0 mA 0.4 mA 7 mA
felt at hand(s) Women = 0.6 mA 0.3 mA 5 mA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Threshold of Men = 5.2 mA 1.1 mA 12 mA
perception Women = 3.5 mA 0.7 mA 8 mA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Painful, but Men = 62 mA 9 mA 55 mA
voluntary muscle Women = 41 mA 6 mA 37 mA
control maintained
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Painful, unable Men = 76 mA 16 mA 75 mA
to let go of wires Women = 51 mA 10.5 mA 50 mA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Severe pain, Men = 90 mA 23 mA 94 mA
difficulty Women = 60 mA 15 mA 63 mA
breathing
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possible heart Men = 500 mA 100 mA
fibrillation Women = 500 mA 100 mA
after 3 seconds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Current that flow through a body depends on the resistance of

the human body.

 The skin consist of two layers.

layers. The outer one, composed of
dead, scaly cells, has a high resistance when dry, it has an
electrical resistance of 100.000 to 600.000 ohm depending of its
thickness .

 Internal body resistant is comparatively low, averaging 300

ohms (with a maximum of 500 ohms) for current flow from
head to foot.This lower resistance results from the body fluids
present, which make it moist and conductive.

 Average body resistance may be 500 ohm or less.This is due to a

fact that current then pass to the inner skin layer, wich has less
resistance

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•(another reference)

Average Body Resistance : 1000 Ω

distribution :
80 Ω

460 Ω
460 Ω

125 Ω 125 Ω

15 Ω

840 Ω 840 Ω

Rubber-soled shoes do indeed provide some electrical insulation to help

Rubber-
protect someone from conducting shock current through their feet. However,
most common shoe designs are not intended to be electrically "safe," their
soles being too thin and not of the right substance. Also, any moisture, dirt,
or conductive salts from body sweat on the surface of or permeated through
the soles of shoes will compromise what little insulating value the shoe had to
begin with. There are shoes specifically made for dangerous electrical
work, as well as thick rubber mats made to stand on while working on
live circuits,
circuits, but these special pieces of gear must be in absolutely clean, dry
condition in order to be effective. Suffice it to say, normal footwear is not
enough to guarantee protection against electric shock from a power system.

Research conducted on contact resistance between parts of the human body

and points of contact (such as the ground) shows a wide range of figures (see
end of chapter for information on the source of this data):
 Hand or foot contact, insulated with rubber: 20 MΩ typical.
 Foot contact through leather shoe sole (dry): 100 kΩ to 500 kΩ
 Foot contact through leather shoe sole (wet): 5 kΩ to 20 kΩ

As you can see, not only is rubber a far better insulating material than leather,
but the presence of water in a porous substance such as leather greatly
reduces electrical resistance.

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Burns
 Most common shock-
shock-related
injury
 Occurs when you touch
electrical wiring or
equipment that is improperly
used or maintained
 Typically occurs on hands
 Very serious injury that
needs immediate attention

Burns & Other Injuries

The most common shock-
shock-related injury is a burn.
Burns suffered in electrical accidents may be of
three types:
 Electrical

 Arc

 Thermal contact

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Burns & Other Injuries

 Electrical burns are the result of the electric
current flowing through tissues or bone.
 Tissue damage is caused by the heat
generated by the current flow through the body.
 Electrical burns are one of the most serious
injuries you can receive and should be given
immediate attention.

Burns & Other Injuries

 Arc or flash burns, on the other hand, are the
result of high temperatures near the body and
are produced by an electric arc or
explosion.
 They should also be attended to promptly.

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Burns & Other Injuries

 Finally, thermal contact burns are those
normally experienced when the skin comes in
contact with hot surfaces of overheated electric
conductors, conduits, or other energized
equipment.
 Additionally, clothing may be ignited in an
electrical accident and a thermal burn will result.
 All three types of burns may be produced
simultaneously.

Burns & Other Injuries

 In addition to shock and burn hazards, electricity poses

other dangers.
 For example, when a short circuit occurs, hazards are
created from the resulting arcs.
 If high current is involved, these arcs can cause injury
or start a fire.
 Extremely high-
high-energy arcs can damage equipment,
causing fragmented metal to fly in all directions.
directions.
 Even low-
low-energy arcs can cause violent explosions in
atmospheres that contain flammable gases, vapors, or
combustible dusts.

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Falls
 Electric shock can also
cause indirect injuries
 Workers in elevated
locations who experience
a shock may fall,
resulting in serious
injury or death

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