Lineman shocked

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cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
I didn't look at the link. I do know that this line of the trade is very dangerous, I googled it... the first 60 days live, in the field makes or breaks a person in this line of work.

I know, I'm on the wrong side of the odds... :cool:
 

WorkSafe

Senior Member
Location
Moore, OK
Could be possible he had a leaking glove. He's lucky he was able to break away from that thing.

A change in underwear and a set of new gloves are probably in order now.
 

hurk27

Senior Member
If you watch very closely right before he gets hit, there is some corona discharge to his left elbow which seems to me either was inductive kick back from the shorting line down stream or the primary windings shorting to the secondary in the transformer, one of the discharges is about 6" long and a bluish purple in color, looks like this is what got this worker.

Keep replaying it you will see it if you have a big enough monitor, also select full screen.
 

richxtlc

Senior Member
Location
Tampa Florida
If you watch very closely right before he gets hit, there is some corona discharge to his left elbow which seems to me either was inductive kick back from the shorting line down stream or the primary windings shorting to the secondary in the transformer, one of the discharges is about 6" long and a bluish purple in color, looks like this is what got this worker.

Keep replaying it you will see it if you have a big enough monitor, also select full screen.
It does look like the cable faulted near his elbow and went through his jacket. He was wearing gloves but was too close to the wire with his body. Gloves can only protect what they cover.
 

dbuckley

Senior Member
If you look in the top left corner of the image just as the lineman gets the blue discharge, there are some insulators that look for a lot higher voltage that 220/110, just as the camera moves.

So perhaps the triplex contacted a higher voltage, and that's why there was a blue corona-ish discharge by his elbow.
 

hurk27

Senior Member
If you look in the top left corner of the image just as the lineman gets the blue discharge, there are some insulators that look for a lot higher voltage that 220/110, just as the camera moves.

So perhaps the triplex contacted a higher voltage, and that's why there was a blue corona-ish discharge by his elbow.

I think your right, this ground arcing is actually high voltage discharging, and if you noticed right when he kind of lifts the line up is when it discharges to his elbow then the whole area is lit up from above like there was an arc up on the primary to this line because it was moved, so definitely this was a triplex that came into contact with a primary.
 

dbuckley

Senior Member
You have to think that worker was incredibly lucky to have stumbled away from that incident.

I read a paper that suggested when the secondary conductors touch the primary conductors, then the secondary conductors do more to pull the higher voltage down that the higher voltage pulls the lower up. Perhaps the fact that there's lot of discharge going on helped limit the voltage excursion of the arc to primary voltage. People generally don't walk away from MV contact.
 
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LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
A friend of mine sent that link to me earlier, with the email titled "Electrocution!" :roll:

I explained the difference to him right away.

Left elbow, definitely; greater than residential voltage, definitely; and, he collapsed (or tripped) at the very end of the video.
 

busman

Senior Member
Location
Northern Virginia
Occupation
Master Electrician / Electrical Engineer
A friend of mine sent that link to me earlier, with the email titled "Electrocution!" :roll:

I explained the difference to him right away.

Left elbow, definitely; greater than residential voltage, definitely; and, he collapsed (or tripped) at the very end of the video.

Yes, this might have been an electrocution. He definitely collapses at the end of the video. There are many reported cases where shock has stopped the heart and people get a few steps in before collapsing. Certainly looks like elbow contacted primary voltage. Don't know why he didn't have sleeves on and/or isolate and ground the primary before going after the downed cable.

Mark
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I think this dropped line was energized with primary current before he even touched it.

I also think he poorly assesed the situation and his actions.

I am not a lineman either. With the line arcing like it was laying on the ground, and the way it was doing it periodically suggests to me it is likely not 600 volts or less and the fact that it was cycling suggests that a circuit recloser was probably the cause of the cycling.

Again not being a lineman I still think the best action was to keep everyone away and open the proper device to de energize this or at least get in bucket truck and isolate this line at pole top levels where the worker would be insulated from the ground. There is still some risk in that but is something they are more used to doing. I don't think any POCO normally works on any primary voltage standing on ground like that - at least not while handling conductors with their hands - substation work is entirely different and better planned out also. This appeared to be some type of emergency where a line went down and he was likely trying to de-energize it. I think it should have been de-energized someplace else.

Again that kind of arcing was not likely 600 volts or less. That was likely the biggest mistake of this incident was to not recognize that.

If he had succeeded cutting that line he still would have had a live end hanging down and still touching the ground, just a little closer to the pole.
 

fredelect

Member
Is it the voltage that "kills" or the amperage? I think volts but had dissuction with another electrician today and he said amperage. Of course, one leads to the other...
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Is it the voltage that "kills" or the amperage?
Voltage is the push and comes from a difference of potential between two points.

Current is the resultant flow of electricity, limited by the impedance of the circuit.

So, the voltage causes the current.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I'm not convinced that arcing on the ground is anything other than LV. There are other videos on youtube with that sort of arcing on the utility drop.

I suggest you take a bare conductor, lay it on the ground, and supply it with 120 volts - even 277 volts and see if you can get similar results. Just because it is a LV drop does not mean a meduim or high voltage can not be imposed on it. All it takes is isolation of the primary neutral someplace and then make contact with a primary phase. The neutral of the primary and secondary voltages are bonded together at transformers.
 

ronaldrc

Senior Member
Location
Tennessee
A friend of mine sent that link to me earlier, with the email titled "Electrocution!" :roll:

I explained the difference to him right away.

That limeman has my prayers and best wishes.

Pun only meant for Larry see there Larry not just Frankenstien. :roll:

Now my two cents worth I believe it was high voltage on that line 120/240 will not conduct that way not even wet.
Look at it this way it is used for service drops everywhere it has the grounded conductor twisted around it it stays rain soaked in a rain storm and even in cased in ice in a bad weather ice storm.Laying on the ground wouldn't make any differences.

Don't believe every thing you see on TV and movies 240 will not do that in a wet location.
 

busman

Senior Member
Location
Northern Virginia
Occupation
Master Electrician / Electrical Engineer
That limeman has my prayers and best wishes.

Pun only meant for Larry see there Larry not just Frankenstien. :roll:

Now my two cents worth I believe it was high voltage on that line 120/240 will not conduct that way not even wet.
Look at it this way it is used for service drops everywhere it has the grounded conductor twisted around it it stays rain soaked in a rain storm and even in cased in ice in a bad weather ice storm.Laying on the ground wouldn't make any differences.

Don't believe every thing you see on TV and movies 240 will not do that in a wet location.

I agree. You can lay 120 or even 277 in the grass all day long and it won't spark like that. The video has to be primary voltage that got crossed onto the secondaries. If nothing else proves this, anyone who has been shocked by 277 can tell you there wasn't a big arc like what you see at this guy's elbow. Just a whole lot of pain.

Mark
 
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