Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 53506.015 - Employee Contacts Busbar Inside A 480-volt Switchgear and is

Accident Summary Nr: 53506.015 -- Report ID: 0522500 -- Event Date: 10/21/2013
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
943520.015	10/21/2013		238210	Romanoff Electric

Abstract: At approximately 11:00 a.m. on October 21, 2013, Employee #1 and a coworker, both electrical foreman, were unclogging a 3 in. piece of PVC conduit that would house the feeder cables for the electrical power. The two employees were trying to unclog the PVC conduit that was located inside of a switchgear that provided all of the 480 volt, 3 phase power to the property. The switchgear was located in the utility closet of the parking garage. Two workdays before, the employees tried using a shop-vac to pull a string through the conduit but were unable to do so. They wanted to pull the string through the conduit so that they could measure the distance of conduit and order the correct amount of cable needed for the job. They discovered a clog in the conduit using fish-tape, and ordered an air compressor to try and blow out the clog. Then one workday before, the two employees scheduled the rental of an air compressor and came up with ways to connect the airline to the 3 in. conduit. The next day, Employee #1 connected the airline to the conduit inside the switchgear and the coworker turned on the air compressor. Employee #1 went to the other side of the conduit and tried to use the shop-vac at the same time the compressor was running. After approximately 10 minutes, the air compressor dislodged the clog from the conduit inside the switchgear. The coworker went to turn off the compressor and Employee #1 returned to the utility closet and started to zip tie the airline to a structural upright inside the switchgear. The structural upright of the switchgear that Employee #1 was zip-tying the airline to was approximately 4 in. from the C-phase busbar that was still energized with 480 volts. Employee #1 reached his left hand around the upright and his left forearm contact the busbar. At this time, the coworker was walking out of the utility closet to go turn the compressor back on. The coworker turned around and saw Employee #1 lying face down inside the switchgear. The coworker returned and tried to pry Employee #1 off the busbar by first using a piece of plywood and then successfully pried him off using a shovel. At that time, two electricians came in and one electrician turned off the switchgear and the other assisted the coworker in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Employee #1, but he died from his injuries received from the electrical shock.

Keywords: Elec Circ Part--Misc, Electrical, Electrocuted, Lockout/Tagout, Struck Against

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Commercial building		New project or new addition			4	40	X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	943520.015	56	M	Fatality		Electricians	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Interior plumbing, ducting, electrical work Fatality Cause:

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