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Safety & Health Practitioner – March 2011
While legislation requires businesses to perform risk assessments for most work activities, electric-arc risk is often overlooked because many people are unsure how to assess and manage it effectively, say Mike Frain and Elaina Harvey.
On 1 February 2007, at an office building in Shoe Lane, central London, two technicians were installing a capacitor to help reduce energy consumption at the site. One of the workers was fitting cables in the back of the capacitor, which was positioned above a number of live conductors. The cables came into contact with one of the conductors and caused an electric-arc flashover. The worker suffered severe burns to his face and upper body – horrific injuries that have prevented him from returning to work.