WHY ARE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS SO PRONE TO ELECTROCUTION?
As an Alaska construction worker, you face a high risk of electrocution every day you go to work.
In fact, ConstructionConnect.com reports that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration lists electrocution as the second-highest cause of construction worker deaths in its “Fatal Four” list as follows:
Falls
Electrocutions
Struck-by-object accidents
Caught-in-between-object accidents
Statistics
Statistics bear out the prevalence of electrocutions when it comes to your risk of on-the-job death. A full 61% of construction deaths result from electrocutions. You face a particularly high risk if you are a man between the ages of 35 and 44; 28.3% of all construction electrocution deaths happen to workers in this demographic.
Furthermore, you need not be an electrician in order to receive an electrocution injury. Electricians themselves represent 19% of all construction electrocution deaths, but laborers represent more: 25% of the deaths.
Causes
A full 75% of construction electrocution fatalities result from the worker coming into contact with a transformer, a converter, or an overhead power line. The other ways in which you could receive an electrocution injury include the following:
Ungrounded electrical wires
Damaged electrical cords
Faulty electrical equipment
Poorly lighted construction sites that allow you to unsuspectingly come into contact with electrical machinery and equipment
Given that winter is now upon us, resulting in even more electrical equipment on your job sites so as to sufficiently heat them, your best interests dictate that you remain constantly vigilant and alert to any and all jobsite electrical hazards. The life you save may well be your own.
This is general educational information and not intended to provide legal advice.