"two employees received an electric shock (one died)"

 

The hazard of electrical shocks and arcs is commonplace in our smelters. Here is a recent story emphasizing this hazard.

 

Fatal accident occurred in the (company name omitted) aluminum works in Europe around 11.30 a.m. on Thursday morning. One man was electrocuted and at least one more injured.

"During maintenance work on a live part in the aluminum smelter, two employees received an electric shock," said aluminium company spokesman. “A technician from a contractor was killed. An (aluminium company) employee was injured. " 

The work affected a system that is used in aluminum electrolysis. The external company was specifically employed for this order in the plant. "Together with the police, we determine how the accident could have happened," said the spokesman.

 

UPDATE

 

According to the current status of the investigations, maintenance work should be carried out on a switch cabinet that was previously de-energized in a switch house. "The 45-year-old employee of an external company obviously mistakenly opened a cabinet that was not de-energized and suffered a fatal electric shock," said spokeswoman for the local district government, where the Office for Occupational Safety and Health is located. "An employee of the company who was in the immediate vicinity of the victim suffered a shock, but was able to leave the hospital in the meantime." How it came about that the 45-year-old opened a cabinet with electricity is currently unclear. In consultation with the police, the investigation will continue.

 

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. We initially thought it involved one of the pots, but the update article states that the electrical shock occurred when the wrong cabinet was open. We would assume that the shock was in fact an electrical arc that killed the contractor. When we have further information, we will update this story.

 

Please comment.