Transcript Slide 1

Four Corners Safety Network
Equipment Move Task Force
Safety Alert – Moving Equipment Around Utility Lines
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In the past year, the Oil & Gas Industry within New Mexico and Colorado has experienced a number of serious incidents involving
mobile equipment contacting High Voltage Overhead Power Lines. Two separate fatality cases involving contact with electric lines
occurred in New Mexico on October13th and November 26th, 2007. OSHA states Oil & Gas Extraction workers sustained 404 fatalities
in the United States from 2003-2006 and twenty (20) of these were a result of contacting electric lines. As little as 5 milliamperes can
be fatal . Depending on the body’s resistance and conditions of the ground, a person contacting a typical 8,000 volt single phase line
could receive anywhere from 2 amps to as high as 80 amps of current across the body. Potentially 40 to 1600 times the amount of
current required to stop a human heart.
Injuries, near-misses and property damage cases continue to occur in the San Juan Basin when mobile equipment is in transit below
overhead power lines with inadequate clearance distances. Personnel may not be aware of adequate overhead clearance minimums
and their hazard potential. Proper work planning and pre-trip routing surveys are essential for every equipment move. Work activities
may have to be altered including “stopping the job” when these circumstances arise. The use of any material to raise any line,
including hot sticks, is prohibited.
OSHA regulation requires 4 feet as a minimum acceptable overhead clearance distance for vehicles in transit. Pilot- vehicles which
lead high-profile truck traffic to work locations need to use non-conductive clearance- reference poles to judge adequate overhead
clearances. Several commercial brands of these poles are readily available which also require an electrical integrity test every 6
months. Drivers of all high-profile truck traffic, especially drivers of pilot-vehicles, need to understand the hazards and preventive
actions associated with overhead power lines to prevent accidents in the San Juan Basin from happening.
If you have any questions about the
information contained in this safety alert,
please send your questions to:
[email protected]
For more Information you may visit these
helpful websites:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/electrical/index.
html
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/
construction/ electrical
incidents/mainpage.html
Overhead power lines are un-insulated and can carry tens of
thousands of volts, making them extremely dangerous to employees
who work in their vicinity.