Safety

These safety guidelines are provided only as a brief guide, and, as such, should not be taken as definitive or complete and should be used to supplement normal safe working practices.

Electricity is potentially extremely dangerous and is hazardous to all forms of life and material property - Electric shock can KILL!

Treat electricity with respect at all times.

Always switch off electrical equipment and disconnect at its source before working on it.

Where it is necessary to work on live equipment adopt the practice of working with one hand in your pocket, it reduces the chance of fatal electric shock by removing one of the main paths for the current through your heart.

Electricity can burn. Even if the voltage is so low as not to present an electric shock hazard, it can still be dangerous. A car battery can supply sufficient current to melt extremely thick cables, spanners, screwdrivers, etc. The heat generated can burn flesh.

Do not "spark" two wires together to check for a supply. If you do not burn yourself, cause a fire or melt a fuse, there is an extra risk involved - ultraviolet radiation. Producing an arc in this manner can produce large quantities of UV which are extremely nasty to eyes and can even cause serious sunburn.

High voltage electricity can jump across air gaps. Do not assume that you actually have to touch the conductor to receive an unpleasant shock. You can be killed in this manner. The voltages on overhead powerlines (up to 400 000 volts in the U.K.) can jump across several feet of air and when this happens an arc is formed which is at extremely high temperatures (up to 20 000 degrees) which will result in severe burns as well as electric shock.

Even if the electric shock does not cause death or injury it can trigger muscle spasms which can cause other injury, such as causing you to fall off a ladder or your hand to come into contact with moving machinery.

Disclaimer

The information provided on this web site is provided "as is" with no warranties offered for accuracy or reproducibility. Any individual, corporation, group or body of any description or legal entity attempting to use the information provided by Jemelec, or other persons, on this web site do so entirely at their own risk. All safety information provided herein is given as a guide only and should be used in conjunction with any safety procedures governed by local legislation and (in the case of a company) company rules and procedures as laid out by that company.