Painful Memories of an Electrical Accident

Electrical safe work practices have come a long way in the last 37 years. Extensive research in arc flash incident energy calculations, development of protective materials, and improvements in the electrical safety culture have made the electrical industry much safer and electrical workers better protected against serious injuries. This paper summarizes the events leading up to an electrical accident from 1981 and addresses key contributing factors of that accident. Improvements in electrical safe work practices developed since the early 1980's are also discussed.