Expanding Workplace Electrical Safety to Non-Electrical Occupations

Abstract

This paper reviews 897 OSHA Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries of fatal electrical injuries between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2018. These reports were reviewed to discover common trends in workplace electrical fatalities in all industries. The data shows that 64% of all workplace electrical fatalities occurred in occupations outside the electrical field, with many of the fatalities occurring in the “laborers, except construction,” “construction laborers,” and “tree trimming occupations.” Analysis of the reports also found that 38% of all electrically related workplace fatalities occurred because of contact with overhead power lines. Out of the seven occupations that make up over 70% of all overhead power line fatalities, only one occupation is in the electrical field, “electrical power installers and repairers,” who work directly with overhead power lines. Since 1976, NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace has been the OSHA recognized standard for electrical safety, but its scope is not meant to create a standard for workers who do not interact with energized electrical equipment as their regular tasks. The authors believe that in order to reduce the number of electrically related fatalities in the workplace, standards provided by NFPA 70E need to be applied to the average non-electrical worker and broadened to include non-English materials.