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The accidents associated with electricity are caused by electrocution. Electrocution can result in: minor shocks, which can result in other accidents like falls; medium shocks, which can result in burns and even critical burns and major shocks which can result in death as in some American prisons.

The injured party can be given an electric shock by coming into contact with a live wire or by the electricity from a live source arcing out – essentially finding earth through that person’s body. Most electric shocks are not serious and are over before you know what has happened yet they are scary afterwards.

A fall resulting from a mild electric shock probably has greater potential to be fatal than the shock itself. For example, if you were changing a light bulb from a chair and you reckoned that the power was off, yet it was not, you might receive a short sharp shock, and it could make you to fall off the ladder and break your neck.

On the other hand, high voltage electric shocks can result in burns deep in human tissue whilst leaving just minor signs of the injury on the outside. It is very important not to get complacent about electricity, because, like the open sea, it does not suffer fools gladly. Here are a couple of electrical safety tips to help keep you safe.

1] Always check power tools for wear and damaged plugs or frayed cords before use. You may have damaged it last time you used it and got away with it that time

2] If you are working in the same room as others, particularly on a building site, do not leave your leads running across the floor – try to tape them to a wall or a bench, because workers may step on them, run wheel barrows over them or spill water on them.

3] Always use the right gauge cable and fuse for your apparatus.

4] If anything gets warm when you are using it, be aware that it might be a sign of an approaching difficulty. Leave warm equipment or sockets to cool down, if it occurs again, get them checked by an electrician. Do not over load electrical sockets.

5] Strive to use a dry wooden ladder if you are working near cables, because wood does not conduct electricity.

6] If you are using any apparatus that produces heat or strong light, do not direct it on anything that could catch fire.

7] Install fast-reacting circuit breakers between your apparatus and the source of electricity to reduce the shock that you may get. These devices sense a faulty earth and switch the appliance off in milliseconds.

If your appliance or electrical equipment has a button for testing the earth, use it each day and if you want to work on a light socket, an electrical socket or the fuse box, test it first with one of those electrical screwdrivers with a small bulb in it. You poke it into the circuitry and the bulb lights up, you have just had a narrow escape. Be more cautious next time!

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several subjects, but is now involved with Uvex Safety Glasses. If you would like to know more, go to our site at Safety Glasses Bifocal

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