Kill Power, Not Workers

Replacing the ballast on a fluorescent light isn’t usually associated with worker fatalities, but such incidents aren’t unheard of.

Without first shutting off power to the lighting fixture, a worker climbed above a ceiling panel and started replacing the ballast. Not long afterwards, a site supervisor heard a loud bang overhead and discovered the worker, dead. Investigators determined the employee had been carrying out hot-line operations with his bare hands, without wearing any protective equipment.

Contributing to the electrocution was the fact the had been sweating profusely, reducing contact resistance with a sheet metal duct upon which he’d been sitting. Investigators also found no operational safety procedures had been prepared.