Major Electrocution Hazards in Construction

Many workers, not just electricians, come into contact with electricity on the job in the following ways:

• Contact with overhead power lines
• Contact with energized sources (for example, live parts, damaged or bare wires, defective equipment or tools)
• Improper use of extension and flexible cords

Major Hazards of Contact with Power Lines

Overhead and buried power lines are especially hazardous because they carry extremely high voltage. Fatalities are possible, as electrocution is the main risk. However, burns and falls from elevations are also hazards that workers are exposed to while working in the vicinity of high voltage power lines. Workers may not realize that cranes are not the only equipment that reach overhead power lines. Working on a ladder or in a man-basket suspended under or near power lines also poses a risk of electrocution.

Caution: The covering on an overhead power line is primarily for weather protection; therefore, workers need to know that if they touch a power line, covered or bare, death is probable.

Voltages of overhead lines range from 120 to 750,000 volts. The most reliable way to know the voltage is to ask the utility company that owns the line.

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