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Re: Electrostatic Injuries



Jim,
Even though I agree that what the employees are dealing with
cannot cause any injury, the compnay should probably cover their ass.
That means some kind of Electric Safety training. I took such a course
at Oak Ridge National Lab but their documentation is not viewable except
by a *.ornl.gov machine (I believe). However, you can see the booklet
used to test out of the course at Brookahven National Lab. Their
Electrical Safety booklet and others (radiation safety training) can be
found at http://www.esh.bnl.gov/ESH_training/. There is good practical
info in there for everyone. If you do not like the WWW version, one in
PDF format is available for download. I give my college freshmen E&M
students a copy of this booklet for reference and a warning that there
is a possible danger. I think it is an excellent reference with some
neat information about electrical hazards. Enjoy. 8-)


Sam Held


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Peters [mailto:jim.peters@AC.HILLSDALE.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 1998 1:17 PM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Electrostatic Injuries


I received a phone call today from a local industry asking if it was =
possible for a person to receive an injury from electrostatics. It
seems =
that, on a production line, workers peal labels off of a paper strip and
=
play around with the electrostatics in the process. Just as one person
=
reached to touch a grounded control lever with one hand, another person
=
touched the first person's other arm giving the first person an =
electrostatic shock which apparently traveled through the chest. I was
=
then told that the first person was injured, taken to the hospital and =
was found to have bleeding gums and damage to heart muscle. They had
the =
equipment thoroughly checked out and it was completely grounded and
could =
not have been at a high voltage. Hence their question: "Could the =
electrostatic shock have caused the injury?" I explained that =
electrostatics can cause injury and described an episode that I read =
about where Benjamin Franklin received a powerful shock from a Leiden =
jar. Also one of B. Franklin's letters describes plans for killing a =
turkey with a shock for a party. Of course there is the killing of the =
Russian in the kite experiment, although perhaps the latter is in a =
different league. Does anyone have any more modern episodes to relate
of =
injuries caused by electrostatics other than atmospheric lightning?
Jim Peters
Hillsdale College