Safety reminder issued following two electric shock incidents
Following two separate incidents in less than a month, SafeWork SA has reminded businesses of the risk of electric shock or electrocution where the electrical supply has not been de-energised. A plumber was fatally electrocuted when installing a hot water system at a domestic property, while in a separate incident an electrician working in a roof cavity space sustained critical injuries from electric shock while working on an air-conditioning unit. Both incidents occurred because power had not been properly de-energised.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA) states that the regulator must be notified of certain ‘notifiable incidents’, with some types of work-related dangerous incidents notified even if no-one is injured. SafeWork SA must be notified of any incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a person to serious risk, resulting from an immediate or imminent exposure to an electric shock. Over the past 12 months, SafeWork SA has received 267 notifications of electric shock or risk of electric shock from the construction (20%), community services (20%), manufacturing (12%) and mining (8%) industries, among others (40%).
New information on working on or near electrical installations or services is available to understand the risks and how to manage them.
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