Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126185826 - Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

A power line crew was repairing a damaged cable in an underground vault filled with water. The 2.4-meter by 4.3-meter vault was located on a sidewalk next to a street. The nitrogen-insulated cables in the vault were energized at 4.8 to 34.5 kilovolts. The workers identified the damaged cable from bubbles leaking up to the surface of the water. They pumped water from the vault; and, from a station 0.4 kilometers away, the utility deenergized the cables and dropped nitrogen pressure. The lines were tagged, and the workers ventilated the vault before entry. After the damaged cable was repaired, a power line worker on the crew (Employee #1) suggested that they also repair the 34.5-kilovolt cable. The crew supervisor held a Univeld acetylene torch to heat a tin-lead-antimony alloy bar (manufactured by Canfield Technologies, Inc.) into a catch pad that Employee #1 was holding. Employee #1 used a mirror to see the back of the cable. While he was leaning over looking at the cable and applying the pad with the solder to the bottom of the cable, the hot solder squirted onto his neck and dripped down to his collarbone. The worker sustained second- and third-degree burns and was hospitalized for 4 days. The injured worker had been wearing a hard hat, safety glasses, Bulwark VF Imagewear fire-resistant coveralls, cotton fire-resistant gloves, safety shoes, and rubber boots. His coveralls had been zipped and buttoned all the way up. However, the worker had extended his neck while looking under the cable. The injury was at the line of the T-shirt, under his coveralls.

Keywords: BURN, SOLDERING TORCH, PPE, ELECTRIC CABLE, ELEC UTILITY WORK, NECK, LEAD