Electricity is like a double-edged sword, it helps us in our daily actions and in our work, but when it is used without knowledge or it is used irrationally, this great ally can become an attack on our physical integrity, it can cause damage to the family, the community and even the worker-electrician.
Electricity as the agent responsible for various damages in:
1.- In the Family
• Deficient electrical installations in the home: On many occasions we do not pay attention to the electrical circuits that our houses have and the proper maintenance that must be applied, falling in deterioration, and becoming a potential source of fires.
• Damage to electrical appliances: Appliances are the ideal aid in every home. From the kitchen to the bedrooms, they have these equipments, which make the life of the man easier and with greater comfort. The high acquisition cost they represent is no secret to anyone, hence the importance of paying greater attention to the maintenance of electrical circuits in the home, as well as the placement of protective equipment that mitigate the impact on fluctuations and high voltages. , during electrical faults.
• Electrocutamiento of the family: this is the most regrettable consequence and of greater impact in the society, due to human losses that have been registered by accidents of this nature.
• Fire from the home: the great majority of home fires, which are reflected in the reports of the fire brigades, correspond to their causes of failures caused by electricity.
2.- In the Community
• Interruptions of the Electric Service: in Venezuela this is a subject that has been very controversial and has taken force at the present time, since there have been interruptions of up to 25 hours running, causing food losses, deterioration or acceleration of diseases terminals of patients in the home, among others.
• Voltage fluctuations: this is a fault that threatens all electrical equipment and causes economic losses in the establishments, affecting the community, since many of them have had to close their commercial premises, thus lowering the offer of meat products, necessary in the Venezuelan basic basket.
3.- In the worker-electrician
The non-use of personal protective equipment (gloves, helmets, etc.) and the lack of technical knowledge about electricity, can produce a series of serious damages to people as a result of direct contact with electricity, among these the most common are:
• Burns: by direct contact with the circuits or by exposure to electric arcs
• Decontrol at the physiological level: such as increased heart rate, changes in blood pressure, among others.
• Tetanization: involuntary contraction of the muscles due to the effect of electricity, dropping in a muscular decontrol.
Unsafe conditions responsible in accidents, due to the effect of electricity
• Lack of the regulatory height in the high and low voltage lines with respect to the ground.
• Little distance between the high and low voltage lines.
• Use of inappropriate materials for the facilities.
• Insufficient or damaged insulation.
• Overloaded circuits.
• Lack of ground connection in appliances or equipment.
• Dielectric protectors in poor conditions or with poor maintenance.
• Undue use of the equipment to work with energized lines.
• Do not use personal protective equipment.
• Improper staff attitudes (Excess Trust).
• Improvisation, lack of planning.
• Execute jobs with equipment in poor condition.
Improper behaviors that can cause an accident due to electricity
• Ignorance about the effects of electric current.
• Electro-domestic artifacts in bad conditions.
• Power tools with ground faults.
• Tree pruning near or under a power line.
• Volantin game in the vicinity of power lines.
• Vehicle crashes with electrical installation poles.
• Elimination of the earth line in tools and electrical appliances.
Most common electric accidents
• Electrocution (Electric Shock)
a. By direct contact with a conductive object that is normally under tension.
b. By indirect contact by means of a good conductor of electricity, with a line that can be energized.
• Falls by Electric Contact.
• Explosion and Fire.
Electricity and Magnitudes
• The quantity or intensity of the circulating current is measured in amperes (Amperage).
• The pressure or voltage of the circulating current is represented by volts (Voltage).
• As the electricity advances, it finds a resistance, whose quantity depends on the substance that serves as the conductor, which is called (Ohmio).
High and Low Voltage Currents
• Low voltage
Current with voltages up to 240 volts
• High voltage
Current with voltages above 240 volts.
Importance of Current Intensity
In most people there is confusion about whether the intensity of the current or the voltage applied to the circuit is the factor that determines the severity of the electrical accident.
It must be made clear that the decisive factor in accidents is the intensity of the current and not the voltage. Accidents have occurred in which similar voltages have caused some fatal cases and others of a mild nature.
I hope we continue writing and reading in the near future.
Greetings ... @ victor79