Why is this old open junction box a hazard?

Is the wiring still energized? Or if not actually energized, is any part of it still connected to a potential source of power (e.g. breaker turned off or removed, but grounded-conductor still attached to the neutral bus) ?

Let's see:
1.ground wrapped back around the romex
2.don't see any ground from the either romex in landed in the box
3.the flex has no ground (could be less than 6 feet)
4.Looks like a 3/0 box and it's overfilled. Even a 4/0 X 11/2 only has max 7 #14 and this has 8 wires. This looks like a mixture of 12 and 14.
5.Overcurrent protection could be an issue, is it 15amp or 20amp.
6. Radius of the bend in the black romex (now I'm being picky)
7.Is the redhead there in the AC cable
8.I'm assuming you found it wiothout a cover.
9.What's the circuit voltage? Is the orange being used as a neutral? Or are the whites being used as a hot?

Gotta be a DIYer. I cringe when I find these. It takes about an hour to patiently explain to the owner why his little box needs to be completely re-done.

I am grateful for the generous lengths of wire to work with- just how did they connect the wirennits?
I'm not too concerned about the ground issues, as I suspect that this is part of and older non-grounded system.

Now- something you won't see addressed in the code: the open box is a hazard, as open boxes invariably become home to wasp nests- and those are no fun!

John wrote:

I assume you mean the wasps are not addressed by the code... nasty little beasties, along with their nastier "cousins" the "bald-faced hornet." There's a pain that's going to linger
http://www.enature.com/fieldguide/showSpeciesAG.asp?agencyID=5&curPageNum=60&recnum=IS0015
http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/baldfaced/baldfaced.htm

[This message has been edited by safetygem (edited 11-17-2004).]