Direct exposure to electricity, unspecified · Electrical burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at El Paso Electric Company, 1220 Barranca, EL PASO, TEXAS 79935
on — Electrical burns, unspecified, affecting the nonclassifiable.
Final narrative
Employees were replacing fuse cutouts from an underground riser. An impact gun touched a fuse cutout, causing an arc flash that burned two employees.
An employee was installing a pole ground when a phase 1 ground arc flash occurred. The employee sustained burns to their face, cheek, ear, and abdomen.
An employee was installing a 15-amp breaker in an electrical panel when a 12-gauge ground wire touched the positive busbar of the panel, resulting in an arc flash. The employee sustained a second-degree burn to their left hand.
An employee was repairing an HVAC system in the drop tile ceiling of a conference room when they were shocked, causing them to fall from the ladder. The employee sustained burns to their right middle and ring fingers.
An employee was replacing a contactor inside an electrical panel attached directly to a press. The press itself was receiving power from another main panel. After replacing the contactor, the employee flipped the switch and an arc flash occurred, burning the employee's elbow, bicep, and neck.
An employee was attempting to switch a medium-voltage primary cable and install a 200-amp fuse barrel. The employee contacted the bottom of the switch gear cradle for the fuse barrel, causing an arc blast. The electricity entered the employee s left hand and exited his big toes, resulting in electric shock and burns to the left hand, arm, shoulder, and both feet. The employee was hospitalized.
On December 6, 2023, an employee of Duke Energy was working on a single-phase 120-/240-volt parallel service re-tap when a secondary flash occurred in an underground service. The employee suffered a second-degree burn to the face and was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221119)
Employees were preparing to replace a primary electrical cable. While two of the employees were working to remove the cable on one side of a switchgear, they came into contact with a wrench and the outside part of the switchgear. One employee suffered an electrical shock.
An employee was installing personal protective grounds at a substation when their hand contacted the end of the ground that was not energized, but induced voltage was created by wind and shocked them. This resulted in a burn on their thumb.
At about 9:35 a.m. on March 18, 2024, an employee was conducting maintenance on a non-operational fan controller in a switchgear room. The employee pulled the controller and began installing a new one. The employee was electrocuted, suffering third-degree burns to the right hand and fingers as well as burns to the right forearm, and was hospitalized.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.