via Tony Moscioni (Canada):

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SAFETY ALERT #2002-36ELECTROCUTION - FATALITY

On Thursday August 01, 2002, at approximately 16:40 hours a high voltage contract worker was fatally injured and another high voltage contract worker was injured on the job.

WHAT HAPPENED:
A crew of 4 (Foreman, Lineman, Operator & Apprentice) employed by a high voltage specialist Contractor were conducting a test on a 25 kv power supply. The power supply was for a new well site at a heavy oil facility in Northern Alberta. The Foreman energized the 25 kv supply to the transformer at the pole near the edge of the lease. The Lineman had donned insulating rubber gloves and then placed the instrument leads on the cable terminations of the transformer primary. The Operator held the voltmeter (rated for low voltage) and was positioned beside the Lineman. The Apprentice was standing behind the Operator holding an instrument for an additional test to be conducted later. When the instrument leads contacted the cable terminations an arc was initiated. The arc path followed the leads to the instrument, to the Operator and through to the Apprentice.
The Operator collapsed face down with electrical burns to his hands and arms. The Apprentice fell to his knees and rolled under a cable tray, receiving minor electrical burns. The Lineman and Forman were uninjured. Emergency response was immediately activated. The Operator was evacuated by helicopter and later died in an Edmonton hospital. The Apprentice was evacuated by road and treated in the Peace River hospital and subsequently released.

Alberta Workplace Health and Safety Officials and the RCMP, along with Senior Management from all companies involved have initiated investigations to determine the cause of the accident.

Positional Re-enactment
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
· Do you identify hazards for every job and discuss how to do the job safely?
· Do you check the experience and competence of your workers for the particular job?
· Do you ensure that proper tools and PPE are available to do the job safely?
· Are you aware of isolation, lockout/tag-out procedures? Do you always follow the procedures?
· What do YOU do when you see somebody doing something unsafe?


CONTACT:
Allan Gosselin
Shell Canada Limited
Phone: (403)-691-3287
Email: allan.gosselin@shell.ca