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ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Scope and Purpose of Electrical Safety


Today, man is surrounded by electrical and electronic equipment. Some of them simple, some of them complicated, some considered essential, and some convenience, they are all intended to serve us. At times, however, we observe that they harm us. One of the ways that electrical equipment could cause physical harm is the electrical shock.

Figure 1 The electric shock

Electrical safety is containment or limitation of hazards: Electric shock to the patients, employees, and visitors in form of o Macroshock (both contacts are external to the body) o Microshock (one of the contact is inside of the body)

Figure 2 Fire caused by electricity

Explosions that may result from electrical contact sparks that ignite variety of explosive gases, such as ether, or cyclopropane anesthetics. Fire

Damage to equipment and buildings Hazards can be minimized but not eliminated. It is not static phenomena; rather it is a dynamic and continuous course of action involving hazard detection and correction. The scope of electrical safety includes any electrically operated equipment used in laboratories and public utilization areas of the Department. Safety is provided via

power distribution and equipment design. Preventive maintenance procedures involving frequent equipment inspections and safety checks, uncovering early degradation of parts and replacements are needed for safe operation of equipment in the laboratories of the Department. Education and training of the lab engineers and students are essential ingredients of the safety measures.

What Is the Electrical Shock


Electrical shock is defined as the undesirable biological damaging effect of an electrical current passing through the body. Electrical current could affect the body in three basic ways: Resistive heating, Electrical stimulation of nerves and muscles, and

Electrochemical burns (especially for DC current). As a result it causes Uncontrollable muscle contraction or unconsciousness, Ventricular fibrillation Injury to tissues o Electrical burns o Chemical burns (for dc currents) o Muscular paralysis, injuries, pain and fatigue o Breaking the bones and tendons

Secondary (side) effects as falling of the ladder or spilling hot oil etc. Electrical current flows through the body due to Direct contact with power lines Power line leakage in equipment to chassis Leakage to the body from diagnostic and therapeutic equipment Uncontrolled electricity in the body during medical practices o Defibrillator currents o Electro surgical currents o Diathermy currents

Figure 3 Direct contact with power lines

Figure 4 Power line leakage

The severity of these effects depends on: Point of contact and the density, Frequency, and

Duration of the current passing through the body. A current level below 0.5 milliampere at 60 Hz frequency will not be felt; If the person grips the conductor. If the conductor makes a point contact, as low as 0.2 milliampere may be sensed.

At low levels, it gives a tingling sensation and the victim can run away from further dangers of the electricity. Figure 5 Ranges for the physiological effect of electricity As a rough guide, a current more than 10 milliamperes at 60 Hz frequency, for a duration of a few tenths of a second entering the body from one arm and leaving from the other arm or from the leg could be lethal. At current levels lower than 10 milliamperes, anywhere from just a tingling sensation to involuntary muscle contractions could result depending on the individual, raising the possibility of secondary physical injuries, such as falling from a ladder. At current levels progressively higher than 10 milliamperes, Respiratory paralysis, ventricular fibrillation, and burns result as illustrated in figure 5. The figure represents estimated values given for each effect in a 70-kg male for 1-3 seconds exposure to 60 Hz current applied to copper grasped by hands.

Among these, the ventricular fibrillation, a certain failure of the heart, is the major cause of death due to electric shock. The sensitivity of the individual varies. Women are more susceptible than the men. There is statistical variation in the level current to cause certain effects. The amount of current required to cause a dangerous electric shock increases at frequencies below about 10 Hz, and above about 1000 Hz. This means that the 50 and 60 Hz frequency used for the mains supply is among the most dangerous, although

technically and economically the most appropriate. If the duration of the current passing through the body is less than about 0.1 second, even higher levels of current will not do any harm. The biological effects of electricity depend directly on the amount of current passing through the body, but not directly on the potential difference (voltage) applied to the body. The voltage, being the force pushing the current though any circuit determines how much current would pass in relation to the total electrical resistance in the circuit. (Ohm's law: Current =Voltage/Resistance.) Since the total resistance is very difficult to predict in a typical electrical shock situation, safety standards for electrical shock are expressed directly in terms of current levels, rather than their voltage equivalents. However, it could be stated that voltages less than about 30 volts (rms) would not usually be able to cause dangerous amounts of current pass through the body under most macro shock conditions.

How the Electrical Shock Occurs


An electric current could flow through the body unintentionally in one of the two situations explained below.

Macroshock Hazard
If an undesirable Figure 6 Illustration of macroshock and microshock (cardiac electric current enters shock) and leaves the body through contacts on a limb such as the hand, arm, or foot, this is called a macro shock hazard, as shown in Figure 6. In this case the path of the current is quite wide as it passes through the chest where the heart is located. Only a small part of the total current affects the heart. Therefore the hazard is less. The dangerous current level of 10 milliamperes stated above is for a macro shock hazard.

Microshock (Cardiac Shock) Hazard


If in any way an electric current passes through the body with a direct electrical contact on the heart, this is called a micro-shock or cardiac shock hazard. Since all of the current would pass through the heart, the hazard is much more in the sense that

even very small currents could damage the heart. The dangerous level of current directly applied to the heart could be as low as 10 microamperes. The micro shock hazard is normally limited to medical administration of electrically operated equipment on patients. The prevention of the above-mentioned electric shock hazards share many common and some specific techniques, as summarized below.

How to Prevent Electrical Shocks


At present, the potential causes of electric shock are well understood and comprehensive safety measures have been standardized. In many countries, these standards are obligatory and they are strictly enforced in the manufacturing and operation of all electrical equipment. However, even if rare, equipment not conforming to such safety standards might be available in the market. Also, properly manufactured equipment might lose its safety after some use or abuse. Therefore, the educated buyer or the user of electrical equipment should have an idea of the essential techniques of preventing the electric shock hazard both as built-in features of equipment and in the course of its utilization. Electrical safety or protection from electric shocks can be achieved at three levels, namely At the power distribution level, At the equipment design level, and At the utilization level.

Electrical Safety in Power Distribution


The present state of the electrical engineering science dealing with the distribution of electrical power dictates that one of the wires carrying the mains power be grounded (earthed). This grounding or earthing is done before it reaches the utilization point, usually at the transformer feeding a building. The grounded wire is called the "neutral". The other wires are called "phase", or "line", or

Figure 7 Distribution of electrical power

"live", or "hot". The requirement of grounding one of the power wires brings together the possibility that even if a person touches just a single wire, he could get an electric shock. If he touches the neutral wire, it is like touching ground (almost) and nothing will happen. But if he happens to touch one of the phase wires, rightfully called live or hot, the circuit will be completed through his feet touching the ground!

See figures 6. Obviously, if both a phase and neutral wire, or two phase wires are contacted by two hands, an electrical current will pass through the body even if the feet are completely isolated from the ground. The following safety measures are called in the distribution of electrical power in buildings. Circuit breakers and switches to interrupt power, or to turn equipment on and off should be placed on the "hot" wire (phase), but not on the neutral wire. If a neutral wire going to equipment is Figure 8 Simplified electrical power distribution for 115V/60 Hz interrupted, the equipment will not work, although the phase wire will still carry the dangerous mains voltage with respect to the earth. From the power distribution point of view, it is permissible to isolate the two mains wires from the ground in limited areas. This technique is called the "isolated power system", and utilized in wet areas and in operating rooms of hospitals. See Figure 9 Utilization of isolation transformer Figure 9. The transformer employed in this system is called an isolation transformer. Its secondary winding is electrically insulated from the primary, and has some other special construction features. "Autotransformers" commonly available in the market do not have an insulated

secondary and they cannot be used for this purpose. If an undesirable electrical connection occurs between the phase wire and the chassis of equipment, anybody touching the chassis will have an electrical current Figure 10 Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) going through his body to the ground. In such a situation, instead of all of the current leaving the phase wire passing through the neutral, some is diverted to the ground. This is called a ground fault or earth leakage. This condition can be detected by monitoring the difference between the currents in the phase and neutral wires. They will be equal unless there is a ground fault. Simple and low cost devices are available in the market to continuously measure the difference and if a significant difference occurs, break the circuit immediately. These protection devices, called Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI), or Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers (ELCB) are highly recommended for domestic use, and they are a must in the distribution of any wet area or outdoor installations. See Figure 10. GFCI's are also available as an adapter to Figure 11 A complete branch circuit existing wall outlets. As detailed below, any exposed conducting surface of electrical equipment should be connected to the ground in order to discharge any current leaking to it. For this purpose, a local grounding electrode system is required to be established for each installation (i.e., building) as illustrated in Figure 11. This is the responsibility of the owner of the building, not the power company. In many countries the owner will be obliged to provide a grounding system in accordance with the applicable standards. The ground electrode

connection should be brought to the central distribution board for the building, and from there on the ground wire will be carried along with the power lines in the distribution system inside. In this way, chassis grounding is conveniently done by the use of a three-way plug and socket pair. A direct connection to a metal water pipe buried under the ground could serve the purpose of grounding if certain conditions are satisfied. The use of the neutral wire as the only way of grounding equipment is never permissible. Any failure of the neutral connection within the building could cause the phase voltage to appear on the chassis of equipment resulting in unexpected electrical shock accidents. We have to be careful in using the water pipe as a grounding point in Jeddah, since the pipe does not go to the ground; rather it goes to the tank in the roof. Such a case will electrify the whole building in case of a serious leakage.

Electrical Safety in Equipment Design


Any metallic or otherwise conducting surface exposed on electrical equipment should be connected to the ground in order to discharge any current leaking to it. Figure 12 Ungrounded and grounded chassis o Figure 12 (a) shows equipment with ungrounded chassis. The equipment works without any problem since the grounding of chassis is not essential for normal operation of it. However, a person touching the chassis drains all the leakage current to ground through his body. o Figure 12 (b) illustrates how safety is provided via the chassis grounding. High current flows through the circuit breaker in case of any serious fault developing in the equipment. This leads to tripping of

the circuit breaker and interruption of the power to the equipment. o Continuity of the safety ground wire and receptacle must be tested periodically. This important safety requirement is relieved only if given equipment does not have any exposed metallic surfaces, or such surfaces are insulated from the current carrying conductors by a double layer of insulation as illustrated in Figure 13. Such equipment is called "double insulated". However, since water entering this type of equipment could provide a leakage path to the outside, they cannot be employed in wet areas and outdoor applications safely.

Double insulated electric motor

Double insulated system


Figure 13 Double insulated system and an electric motor

Whenever the power requirements of equipment permit, it should be designed to operate from a low enough voltage to limit the current, which could pass in an accident. A voltage level below 30 volts (rms) could be considered safe in many applications. The low voltage should be obtained from batteries, or from an isolation type transformer feeding from the mains. An isolation transformer has its secondary winding electrically insulated from the primary and some other special construction features.

"Auto-transformers" commonly available in the market do not have an insulated secondary and they cannot be used for this purpose. If equipment has signal connections to outside, such as existing in audio and video equipment, these should be electrically isolated from the mains voltage. This requirement can be satisfied in most applications by utilizing an isolating power transformer feeding all the circuits in equipment. In medical applications where direct body connections are required, special isolation techniques are utilized to limit the current, which could flow even at the worst cases.

Electrical Safety in Utilization


The first obligation of the buyer and user of electrical equipment is to make sure that it is conforming to the electrical safety guidelines stated above. If any significant deviations from these are suspected, Either the equipment should be rejected or A specialist in the field should be consulted.

It should be made sure that the electrical power distribution system at hand is satisfying the safety requirements. If equipment has a grounded, three-terminal plug, it should not be "adapted" to a mains outlet, which does not have a grounding terminal. A fuse in the power distribution circuit or inside equipment not only protects against possible fire or extensive damage to the equipment, but also provides a line of defense against electrical shocks. In case a short circuit provides a current path from a phase wire to the grounded chassis in equipment, the excessive amount of current drawn will trip the fuse and immediately remove power from the equipment. If a fuse is over-rated or simply replaced by a thick wire this protection obviously fails.

Office Electrical Safety


Electricity is essential to the operations of a modern automated office as a source of power. Electrical equipment used in an office is potentially hazardous and can cause serious shock and burn injuries if improperly used or maintained. Electricity travels through electrical conductors, which may be in the form of wires or parts of the human body. Most metals and moist skin offer very little resistance to the flow of electrical current and can easily conduct electricity. Other substances such as dry wood, porcelain, or pottery offer a high resistance and can be used to prevent the flow of electrical current. If a part of the body comes in contact with the electrical circuit, a shock will occur. The electrical current will enter the body at one point and leave at another. The passage of electricity through the body can cause great pain, burns, destruction of tissue, nerves, and muscles and even death. Factors influencing the effects of electrical shock include the type of current, voltage, resistance, amperage, pathway through body, and the duration of contact. The longer the current flows through the body, the more serious the injury. Injuries are less severe when the current does not pass through or near nerve centers and vital organs. Electrical

accidents usually occur as a result of faulty or defective equipment, unsafe installation, or misuse of equipment on the part of office workers. Types of electrical hazards found in an office environment include the following:

Ungrounded Equipment
Grounding is a method of protecting employees from electric shock. By grounding an electrical system, a low-resistance path to earth through a ground connection is intentionally created. When properly done, this path offers sufficiently low resistance and has sufficient current-carrying capacity to prevent the build-up of hazardous voltages. Most fixed equipment such as large, stationary machines must be grounded. Cord and plug connected equipment must be grounded if it is located in hazardous or wet locations, if operated at more than 150 volts to ground, or if it is of a certain type of equipment (such as refrigerators and air conditioners). Smaller office equipment, such as typewriters and coffee pots, would generally not fall into these categories and therefore would not have to be grounded. However much of the newer office equipment is manufactured with grounded plugs as a precaution (three prong plugs). In such cases, the equipment should be used in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. In any case, never remove the third (grounding) prong from any threeprong piece of equipment.

Overloaded Outlets
Insufficient or overloading of electrical outlets should be avoided. A sufficient number of outlets will eliminate the need for extension cords. Overloading electrical circuits and extension cords can result in a fire. Floor mounted outlets should be carefully placed to prevent tripping hazards.

Unsafe/Non-Approved Equipment
The use of poorly maintained or unsafe, poor quality, non-approved (by national testing laboratory) coffee makers, radios, lamps, etc. (often provided by or used by employees) should be discarded. Such appliances can develop electrical shorts creating fire and/or shock hazards. Equipment and cords should be inspected regularly, and a qualified individual should make repairs.

Defective, frayed or improperly installed cords for electricallyoperated office equipment


When the outer jacket of a cord is damaged, the cord may no longer be waterresistant. The Cheater plug insulation can absorb (adapter) moisture, which may then result in a short Figure 1 Common lethal electrical hazards circuit or excessive current leakage to ground. If wires are exposed, they may cause a shock to a worker who contacts them. These cords should be replaced. Electric cords should be examined on a routine basis for fraying and exposed wiring. Improper Placement of Cords A cord should not be pulled or dragged over nails, hooks, or other sharp objects that may cause cuts in the insulation. In addition, cords should never be placed on radiators, steam pipes, walls, and windows. Particular attention should be placed on connections behind furniture, since files and bookcases may be pushed tightly against electric outlets, severely bending the cord at the plug. Electrical Cords across Walkways and Work Areas An adequate number of outlet sockets should be provided. Extension cords should only be used in situations where fixed wiring is not feasible. However, if it is necessary to use an extension cord, never run it across walkways or aisles due to the potential tripping hazard. If you must run a cord across a walkway, either tape it down or purchase a cord runner. Live Parts Unguarded Wall receptacles should be designed and installed so that no current-carrying parts will be exposed, and outlet plates should be kept tight to eliminate the possibility of shock.

Pulling of Plugs to Shut Off Power Switches to turn on and off equipment should be provided, either in the equipment or in the cords, so that it is not necessary to pull the plugs to shut off the power. To remove a plug from an outlet, take a firm grip on and pull the plug itself. Never pull a plug out by the cord. Working on "Live Equipment" Disconnect electrical machines before cleaning, adjusting, or applying flammable solutions. If a guard is removed to clean or repair parts, replace it before testing the equipment and returning the machine to service.

Blocking Electrical Panel Doors


If an electrical malfunction should occur, the panel door, and anything else in front of the door will become very hot. Electrical panel doors should always be kept closed, to prevent "electrical flashover" in the event of an electrical malfunction.

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