IWA ELECTRICITY HAZARDS STILL KILLING IWA MEMBERS Regardless of training and stressing the hazards of elec- tricity, many incidents and sometimes fatal accidents, oc- cur through lack of under- standing or proper precau- tions. The followig is submitted in the hope that all workers will read and heed. The hazards of electricity insofar as human injury is concerned can be combined under two headings: 1.When the human body is involved in a contact be- tween an energized line or other piece of energized ap- paratus and ground poten- tial, or is involved in con- tact between an energized line and opposing line or phase. In any case when the hu- man body is in direct contact with energized electrical ap- paratus it forms a part or completes an electrical circuit. 2.If one is in the immediate area where energized line or electrical device is caused to be short circuited and causes a flash. EFFECTS OF ELECTRICITY There are several distinct effects which can result from the foregoing hazards. These include: 2. Hemorrhage caused by muscles controlling breath- ing. 2. Hemorrhage caused by in- creased blood pressure dur- ing the passage of circuit. 3. Heart failure (cardiac ar- rest or ventricular fibrilla- tion). 4. Damage to the nervous sys- tem. 5. Burns. It should be noted that burns resulting from electrical accidents can be of two types: (a) A standard heat burn which results from a short circuit or flash, (b) Direct contact burn. With any standard heat burn there is usually destruc- tion of the surface of the body and penetration of this de- struction into the flesh cover- ing the same area as that of the surface. However, in the ease of an electrical contact burn, the destruction of the flesh fans out into the body so that a section of destroyed tis- sue is cone shaped spreading out from the surface. As a result it is very difficult to de- termine the seriousness of electrical contact burn simply by examining the surface area. Some of the factors that in- fluence the severity of the above effects are: vy of circuit, (AC or DC). 2.1 (amount of), _3.1t should be stressed at this that when we discuss cal shock, although voltage is usually the only known criterion, voltage only presents the possibility of damage to the body, the current or amperage does the actual damage. . resistance of the human body. é .the amount of current. . the pathway of the current. .the duration of shock or contact, The most important factors of the foregoing and in order of their importance, are: 1. the amount of current. 2. the pathway of current. 3. the duration of contact. All of the factors are im- portant, however, as they de- “13 1 od termine the other three. Since’ the amount of current seems to head up the list in import- ance, let us consider some of the effects that could be ex- pected from electric shock re- ceived by the passage of vari- ous current values. The following current val- ues are designated in milli- amperes or in terms of 1,000th of an ampere. These values are very small when we con- sider the average outlet in the home is fully capable of de- livering a current of 15 amps or 15,000 milliamperes. It can be seen from the foregoing current values that a very small amount of cur- rent is sufficient to cause definite harm. It can be said that as small a value as 1/10 of an ampere is enough to kill. RESISTANCE OF HUMAN BODY The figures listed are the internal resistance of the body from various extremities. These figures will vary some- what with different people. They are, however, usually accepted as the internal re- sistance of the average per- son. The resistance of the outer skin is appreciably higher, however, dependent on the duration of contact and/or other conditions that might be apparent, the most common being — dampness from perspiration—the resist- ance of the skin could be lowered to 1/10 of the normal value. from hand to foot—500 ohms. from hand to hand—300 ohms. from hand to head—200 ohms. from head to foot—400 ohms. Electricity can strike very swiftly and very drastically. Pre-planning of every job will go a long way to prevent this. Misunderstanding can often be blamed for electrical acci- dents and misunderstandings usually arise when the jobs are not properly planned. UNSKILLED PERSONS It cannot be emphasized too strongly the ABSOLUTE NECESSITY of preventing unauthorized, untrained or SAFETY PAGE unskilled persons from doing any electrical maintenance work in your plant. It must be a company regulation that only persons who are qualified electricians should do elec- trical maintenance. CHECK LIST Here is a check list that can be followed to ensure you have taken every precaution to protect your personnel from electrical hazards. 1. Are exposed electrical con- nections accessible only to those persons who are qual- fied? 2. Are all personnel instructed to call an electrican rather than try to make repairs on.electrical devices them- selves? 3. Are personnel who do elec- trical installation provided with proper tools and pro- tective equipment? 4. Are your tool shop person- nel instructed to check fre- quently tools which may create electrical hazards? 5. Are all portable tools equip- ped for use in a grounded receptable? 6. Are electrical circuits prop- erly fused so as to prevent overloads? 7.Do you have a sufficient number of employees train- ed in the first aid treatment of electric shock? THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER . deaths for all industries. and 93,659 injuries. FOREST INDUSTRY HIGHEST The forest products industry suffered the greatest number of accidents in British Columbia in 1968, account- ing for 23.3 percent of the total. The Workmen’s Compensation Board’s annual report showed a total of 90,103 work injuries and 211 industrial The same number of fatalities were reported in 1967 A break-down of accidents showed the Trade and: Service industries had the second highest number of injuries with 18.1 percent, general manufacturing third with 17.2 percent, and the construction industry and allied trades last with 15.4 percent. SHELTER BAY LOGGING ACHIEVES TOP SAFETY RECORD By ART KELLY Local 1-417 Safety Director On the evening of February 12th, 1969, Celgar (Woods Di- vision) hosted a well attended social hour and banquet for the employees and their wives in recognition of the outstand- ing safety performance that has been achieved by their Sele Bay Logging person- nel. Their best previous Safety record was 462 compensible free days, which was accom- plished in 1962-1963. As of February 12, 1969, they had surpassed this achievement by attaining a most enviable 590- day accident free record. A letter of commendation was read to the Shelter Bay crew from the company’s Twin River Operation at Ter- race, in recognition of their excellent Safety record. After dinner guest speakers were: Mr. O. F. Scheelar, Log Pro- duction Manager, Celgar Woods Division; Mr. E. Peck- ard, Workmen’s Compensation Board; Art Kelly, Financial Secretary and Safety Direc- tor for Local 1-417, IWA; Mr. Ed Morrissey, Chief Safety Director of the ILMA; and Mr. Alex Brokenshire, Direc- tor of Industrial Relations, ART KELLY Columbia Cellulose Company Limited. Mr. Brokenshire and Mr. Al Anderson were both very gen- erous in expressing their ap- preciation for the interest and participation of the IWA in the field of accident preven- tion. It is my sincere hope that the employees in the Shelter Bay operation will continue their efforts in the interest of Safety and this record will continue to grow, also that we will be able to experience sim- ilar achievements in other areas of our Local Union. ON THE LIGHTER SIDE The man in the grey suit was relating his hunting ex- perience. “As I came around the turn in the mountain road,” he said, “I came face to face with a huge grizzly bear, and a hundred pictures of my life raced before my mind.” “Tell me,” a listener broke in, “did you happen to see me handing you that fifty bucks back in 1963?” * * * Cop: “Lady, can’t you read? You’re in a no parking zone.” Lady: “Don’t be ridiculous, the sign says fine for parking.” The English professor was discoursing to his class on the value of books in general when he asked the pretty blond in the second row what book she would choose if in her whole life she could have only one. The gal thought very care- fully before coming up with her reply: “A cheque book.” 1 Te Ue. | nn —— - ARTIST’S CONCEPTION of proposed new addition to Workmen’s Compensation Board head office in Vancouver. Construction is scheduled to begin in early summer with completion expected by the summer of 1970. The new building will be constructed on the parking lot site immediately behind the present administration building on 37th Avenue.