Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: ELECTRIC

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to the hazard of electrocution: a.On or about October 9, 1996, the electrical systems on the Norton Creek Farm were not maintained in a safe and proper operational condition: 1.Electrical systems did not have a continuous path to ground: A.The electric motors on the north and south feed lines in House Number Three did not have a continuous path to ground. There was a 5 -inch gap in the ground wire in the electrical line between poles eleven and twelve on the north side of the house. B.The fill line motor in House Number Three did not have a continuous path to ground. The black power supply cord leaving the junction box did not have a ground line. The black power cord was then spliced into an orange extension cord. The ground line contained in the orange extension cord was visible and not spliced into anything. C.The north and south fill line switches in House Number Three did not have a continuous path to ground. The black power supply cord leaving the junction box did not have a ground line. The black power cord was then spliced into the two orange extension cords which supplied power to the fill line pressure switches. 2.Electrical cords were not protected from damage: A.The black power cord supplying electrical power to the fill line auger motor in House Number Three had been worn through by the motor's belt, exposing the inner electrical wires. B.In House Number Three, the nonmetallic-sheathed cables were attached to the poles with staples. In several locations, such as but not limited to pole 14, north side, the staples had damaged the outer insulation exposing the three inner wires. 3.Power cords were improperly spliced together: A.The nonmetallic-sheathed cables, Romex lines, in House Number Three had been spliced together at various locations outside of junction boxes, at poles 9 and 24. The ground line at pole 9 waswrapped around the neutral line. In two junction boxes it was noted that the grounding lines were twisted together, but not capped. The bare ground lines rested against the metal junction boxes. B.In House Number Three, the orange extension cord to the north fill line switch had been spliced in two locations. The tape on the splices was unraveling, and the splices were within 16 inches of the switch. C.The black lines supplying power to the fill line auger motor and the north and south fill line pressure switches were not spliced properly. 4.In House Number Three, there was a 40 amp breaker in the breaker box for the fill line. The line was rated for #12 wire, a 20 amp breaker and supplied power to a Dayton Farm Duty Motor on the fill line, volts = 115/230, SFA = 11.8/5.9. 5.Improper wiring was noted in several houses on the farm, such as but not limited to reverse polarity in houses one, two, three, four, six, and seven, and an open ground in House Number Five. Among other methods, one feasible means of abatement would be to provide electrical installations which are in compliance with the National Electrical Code.rical