An employee received an electric shock at the Advanced Light Source two weeks ago, and although he was not injured it was a serious near-miss accident, and the ninth near-miss electric shock at Berkeley Lab in the past two years. Fortunately none of the nine injuries were serious, but they had the potential to be. Similar circumstances at the Stanford Linear Accelerator led to a person receiving very serious injuries and burns, and that individual is still away from work six months later.

Laboratory Director Steven Chu recently reminded all employees of their responsibility to work safely. Only a qualified electrical worker (such as an electrician or an electronic technician) may work on energized electrical components that are rated above 50 volts or above 500 watts. Any employee who is unsure should get help. Check with a supervisor or a co-worker and ensure you are working safely. If you have questions about safety in your workplace, call Richard DeBusk, Occupational Safety, at x2976, or Bob Mueller, Chair of the Electrical Safety Subcommittee, at x2919.

The employee who was shocked at the ALS two weeks ago was performing electrical work he was not qualified to perform (touching test leads while the equipment was energized), and this was not the first case of such an occurrence. The Electrical Safety Subcommittee believes that employees performing electrical work beyond their qualification is a serious problem that must be addressed if Berkeley Lab is to avoid a serious injury.

Electricity is an integral part of people’s lives and is often taken for granted. Many researchers design complex electrical devices, but that does not qualify them to adjust the equipment when it is energized. Only qualified electrical workers (generally electricians and electronic technicians) can work on energized electrical equipment above 50 volts or above 500 watts. If this rule is followed, Berkeley Lab will avoid most electrical accidents and reduce the number of electric shocks to zero.

Note that the Electrical Safety Subcommittee and EH&S are developing a course to qualify researchers to work on some energized electrical equipment – more information on this course will be available later.