Electrical injury management at ENEL (ENEL, Italy: 1980–1991)

Abstract

ENEL, the Italian State Electricity Board, with over 50,000 workers, has always followed very carefully the trend of the injuries at work and especially, the electrical injuries. Electrical injuries at ENEL represent a small percentage of the overall accidents and are constantly decreasing throughout the years: in 1980, there were 332 (approximately 5% of total injuries, while in 1991, there were 133, approximately 3% of total injuries. In spite of the small percentage, electrical injuries are responsible for almost 50% of the fatalities and for the longest duration of absences from work. This is the reason why electrical injuries have been studied and investigated from various standpoints. The most surprising result is that over 90% of the accidents that occur potentially could have been avoided. The key, at ENEL, for reducing the number of electrical injuries below the "tough shoe" is improving human behavior of workers on the job, and this has been the primary goal of ENEL's efforts, especially in the last few years. From the medical standpoint, the treatment of electrical injuries has taken advantage of improvements reached in the field of burn treatment in recent years. a survey of the most advanced protocols adopted in Italy for electrical burns treatment in emergency conditions is presented.