• A boomed vehicle, truck, or other vehicle comes into contact with electric power distribution or transmission lines,
• A ladder or scaffold comes into contact with electric power distribution or transmission lines,
• A backhoe or other digging device comes into contact with underground electric power distribution or transmission lines, or
• A worker makes bodily contact with electric power distribution or transmission lines.

• Wireless Cable TV Service Installer Electrocuted by Overhead Power Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigations of Fatal Electrical Incidents Report 96MO059. An installer of a wireless cable TV service was electrocuted when the antenna mast he was raising/installing came into contact with a 7,200-volt overhead power line.
• Cable Television Installer Electrocuted When Cable Wire Contacts 7,200-Volt Power Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigations of Fatal Electrical Incidents Report 98MO042. A cable television (CATV) installer was electrocuted when the cable wire he was holding contacted a 7,200-volt power line.
• Fiber Optic Cable Installers Electrocuted. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE), Nebraska FACE Investigation 98025. A 41-year-old journeyman lineman, a 38-year-old journeyman lineman, and a 24-year-old, all working as cable installers in aerial line construction, were killed when a guy wire contacted an 8,000-volt above-ground power line.

• Tree Trimming/Removal Worker Electrocuted after Making Indirect Contact With a 8000 Volt Overhead Power Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigations of Fatal Electrical Incidents Report 92MN012. A tree trimming/removal worker was electrocuted when she made indirect contact with an 8,000-volt overhead power line.

Crane contacts overhead power line

• Construction: Contact with power lines. OSHA.  Contains information for construction workers who may be exposed to the risk of electrocution due to equipment contact with power lines.
• Electrocution Resulting from Crane Cable Contact with Power Line. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigations of Fatal Electrical Incidents Report 82-03. This report is based on an investigation of a single occupational electrocution resulting from a crane's cable coming in contact with a 7,200-volt power line.

• Truck Driver Electrocuted. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigations of Fatal Electrical Incidents Report. A 29-year-old truck driver/delivery man was electrocuted when the aluminum pole brush he was holding came in contact with a 14,000-volt overhead transmission line.

• Electrocution of a Painter. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Investigations of Fatal Electrical Incidents Report 82-09. A 22-year-old painter working on an electrical transmission tower accidentally contacted a grounding line that had a static charge.
• Municipal Utility Worker Electrocuted. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE), New Jersey FACE Investigation Report. A 28-year-old municipal utility worker was electrocuted when a backhoe struck a 4,100-volt underground electrical transmission line.
• Firefighter Electrocuted. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE), New Jersey FACE Investigation Report. A 47-year-old firefighter was electrocuted and a second firefighter was seriously injured while positioning a 35-foot aluminum extension ladder at a fire scene. The ladder fell back and contacted a 7,600-volt overhead power line, electrocuting the victim and critically injuring a second firefighter.
• TV Tower Installers Electrocuted. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE), Indiana State Department of Health Indiana FACE Report. A 51-year-old worker (the decedent), a co-worker, and the employer were installing a TV tower at the side of a building housing the employer's business. As the workers were trying to stabilize the TV tower into the pre-dug hole, it fell and contacted one phase of a three phase 7200-volt overhead power line. The electrical current traveled from phase to ground, killing one worker and giving the co-worker a severe electrical shock.
• For more information about other occupations and other reports, see the NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Traumatic Occupational Injuries: Electrocution Fatality Investigation Reports.

Apparel

• Guidelines for the Enforcement of the Apparel Standard, 29 CFR 1910.269(l)(6). OSHA Standard Interpretation, (1995, August 10). When work is performed within reaching distance of exposed energized parts of equipment, the employee should remove all exposed conductive articles, such as key or watch chains, rings, or wrist watches or bands. Clothing made from acetate, nylon, polyester, or rayon, either alone or in blends, is prohibited unless the employer can demonstrate that the fabric has been treated to withstand the conditions that may be encountered.

Fall Protection

• OSHA's requirements for locking type snaphooks on pole strap systems. OSHA Standard Interpretation, (1996, March 13). Provides an interpretation of fall protection requirements under 29 CFR 1910.269. The fall protection requirements under paragraph 29 CFR 1910.269(g) do not apply to rural electric cooperatives connecting electrical service to a consumer's home to install electric line attachments. However, the fall protection requirements under paragraph 29 CFR 1910.23(c)(1) do apply to such a workplace application.

Minimum Approach Distance

• Clarification of 1910.269 as applied to line-clearance tree-trimming operations. OSHA Standard Interpretation, (1999, April 26). Provides a clarification of line-clearance tree-trimming work. The employees must be either (1) trained as qualified employees, or (2) must be "undergoing on-the-job training," have "demonstrated an ability to perform duties safely at [their] level of training," and be "under the direct supervision of a qualified [employee]."
• Permit space entry. OSHA Standard Interpretation, (1994, August 8). Provides a response to a question about what confined space entry requirements apply to subcontractors who perform work (not involving power generation, transmission, or distribution) in utility company manholes and vaults.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Report

• Worker Deaths by Electrocution: A Summary of Surveillance Findings and Investigative Case Reports. US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 98-131, (1998, May), 137 KB PDF, 51 pages. The industries with the highest percentage of electrocutions were construction (40%), transportation, communication, and public utilities (16%), and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (11%).