Meeting Presentation - 2003

By
I.D.B.Withanage
Electricity Is Dangerous
Whenever you work with power tools or on
electrical circuits there is a risk of electrical
hazards, specially electrical shock.
Anyone can be exposed to these hazards
at home or at work.
Workers are exposed to more hazards
because job sites can be cluttered with
tools ,materials and open to the weather.
Risk is also higher at work because many
jobs involve electric power tools.
Coming in contact with an electrical

voltage can
cause current to flow
through the body,
resulting in electrical shock and burns.
Serious injury or even death may
occur.
As a source of energy, electricity is
used
without much thought about
the hazards it can cause. Because
electricity is a familiar part of our lives
Types of Electrical Injuries

There are four main types of electrical
injuries:
Electrocution (death due to electrical
shock)
Electrical shock
Burns
Falls
The more dangers of above all is

electrical shock.
Electric Shock Is?

Electric shock is the reaction of the
human body to an unnatural passage
of electric current through its tissues.
How Is an Electrical Shock

Received?
An electrical shock is received when
electrical current passes through the body.
Current will pass through the body in a
variety of
situations.
When ever two wires are at different
voltages, current will pass between them if
they are connected.
Your body can connect the wires if you
touch both of them at the same time
Current will pass through your body.
The Effects of Electric Shock

Burning
If human tissue is heated to over
450C for any length of time, damage
is likely. The passage of current
through the body tissue produces
heat.200mA passing for 5s can heat
body tissue to 450C, 700C after 5s of
500mA causing severe damage.
Electrical burn on hand and arm.
Arm with third degree burn from

high-voltage line
Contact burns
The point of contact with an electrical
source are common sites for skin tissue
damage.
The extent of the damage depends on the
current flow per area of skin, and on the
duration of flow.
Flash burns
An electric arc is produced whenever
electric current jumps through air. This
produces heat; that produced by a large arc
will be sufficient to cause instantaneous
burning of any nearby body tissue.
The Risks
Batteries
Small batteries used in household
appliances pose no measurable risk of
electric shock.
High power batteries used in electrical
vehicles may be of high enough
voltage to pose significant risk of
shock, and are capable of delivering
massive amounts of energy.
Domestic mains
Domestic mains (230V AC) is capable
of causing significant harm. The risks
vary, depending on contact area
current path through the body,
moisture, and the susceptibility of
the casualty.
Likely injuries vary from small painful
shocks with no after effects, through
to cardiac arrest and extensive
burning if contact is prolonged.
Industrial mains
Industrial mains varies from 230V to
400V and up to several KV.
For voltages much above 230V, any
contact is likely to lead to significant
current flow through the body and
severe injury.
Static electricity
small build UPS of static electric
charge may cause momentarily painful
shocks, but otherwise are harmless.
Protection against Electric

Shock
Insulation
Human contact with conductors or parts of
equipment carrying hazardous voltages is
prevented by a covering of insulating
material such as rubber or plastic.
Separation
Human contact with conductors is
prevented by physical separation, enforced
by physical barriers, such as is the case
with overhead distribution lines,
distribution switching centres and substations.
Protective Earthing
Hazardous electrical parts are
enclosed in a conductive housing
which is then connected to Earth by
a separate conductor.
The connection to earth prevents the
housing becoming live should a
fault occur which might otherwise
cause this.
Fuses and over current devices

Fuses are intended as 'weak links in a
system. They over heat, melt and break
the circuit when an abnormally high
current flow- such as many occur through
an overload or fault condition.
Over current devices are switch devices,
but they include mechanisms to sense the
amount of current passing through them,
and automatically break the circuit should
that current exceed a pre- determined
level. Thus they give protection in a similar
manner to fuses, but they are re-usable.
Residual current devices

Residual current devices (RCDS)
operate by monitoring the current in
both flow and return conductors of a
circuit, they break the circuit if a fault
condition (and thus shock hazard)
causes the flow and return to be
unequal.
Thank You

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By

Coming in contact with an electrical

Types of Electrical Injuries

The more dangers of above all is

Electric Shock Is?

How Is an Electrical Shock

The Effects of Electric Shock

Electrical burn on hand and arm.

Arm with third degree burn from

Protection against Electric

Fuses and over current devices

Residual current devices

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