Farmers urged to be aware of electrical hazards
Tips offered for National Farm Safety and Health Week, September 19-25.
Farmers and farm family members face dangers every day. Although tragedies such as tractor rollovers and grain bin suffocation receive the most attention, electrocution and electrical burn accidents are frequent on farms, according to Dr. Sam Steel, Agricultural Safety Specialist with the National Safety Council.
“The simple movement of a portable grain auger from one bin to another can have tragic results if the individuals involved are not extremely careful. The use of tractors with large cabs and antennas and oversized grain wagons can also result in preventable electrocution incidents.” Steel says.
“Electrical equipment around fields, such as power lines in the end rows may get overlooked during such a hectic time of year as harvest,” adds Jay Solomon, a University Extension Ag Engineer and member of the Safe Electricity Advisory Board. “Failure to notice overhead power lines can be a deadly oversight.”
Safe Electricity is a program of the Energy Education Council which collaborates with utilities and educators to teach electrical safety practices and procedures. Solomon notes “Most farmsteads could use a very careful overhead visual inspection of electric lines. The service may no longer meet the proper height codes because of age and/or damage to poles and pole guy wires. The sag may have increased over the years, while the height of the machinery being used today may be much higher.”
Solomon says utility regulators require power lines to be 18.5 feet or more above the ground to provide adequate clearance. However, today’s farm equipment has a long reach when extended; and even when collapsed for roadway transport, many pieces of equipment may exceed that 18.5 foot height. Solomon suggests a daily check of where equipment will be moving to ensure that it will clear power lines. But he says don’t take matters into your own hands. “They may not be as high as they look. Never undertake the height measurement of the lines without the on-site help of utility company officials.”
Always maintain a 10 foot separation from a power line - above, below and on the sides - whether you are driving underneath or passing a grain auger near it. Solomon relates the tragic story of a 53 year old Michigan truck driver who was cleaning sugar beets out of his truck and unknowingly raised the bed into a 4,800 volt overhead power line. As he stood in the wet field and touched the energized truck bed, he was electrocuted.
In addition to a field survey of power lines farmers should obtain safety information for the benefit of their workers and make sure everyone knows how to stay safe.
The National Safety Council’s Steel says, “Where possible, install electrical safety warning signage to prevent equipment and personnel contact with power lines. This will also be beneficial to your suppliers who may be making deliveries to your farm. Always keep in mind that electricity doesn’t allow mistakes. And neither should you.”
For more information on electrical safety and to see videos about power line safety, visit www.SafeElectricity.org. Safe Electricity is a program of the Energy Education Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting electrical safety and energy efficiency, and supported by a coalition of hundreds of organizations, including electric utilities, educators and other entities committed to promoting safe use of electricity. # # #