Six Facts on Electrocution
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Lifetime odds of dying from electrocution: 1 in 5,000 (Source: LiveScience.com)
- The minimum electrical current detectible by a person is 1 mA (milliampere).
- Electrocution is the 5th leading cause of occupational injury deaths in the US.
- Workers must ensure that ladders, scaffolds, pipes and other tools and materials are not brought any closer than 10 feet from overhead power lines. With higher-voltage lines, that safety margin should increase to 35 feet.
- Every 30 minutes, a worker suffers an electrical injury severe enough to require time off work to recover.
- Work experience or lack of it plays a significant part in electrocutions, with 41 percent of US victims having been on the job for a year or less.
- An electrical current of 100 mA (milliamperes) can be fatal, depending upon how it passes through the body.