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In This Issue
Poll Results: Electrical Safety Training
New Poll: What Should Be On Arc Flash Labels?
OSHA Updating 1910.269, NFPA Updating 70E-2012
Burn Up The Myth: Can I Get Burned In Arc Flash Clothing?
OSHA Fines this Month
NEW Electrical Safety Articles & Video
Arc Test Dates
FREE: Sponsor an e-Hazard Class in Your Area
Blog Entries This Month

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 NFPA 70E-2009

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Tuesday April 12, 2011 Holiday Inn - Decatur, AL

 

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NFPA 70E Low Voltage Qualified Training

Tuesday May 10, 2011 Wayest Training Facility

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Quick Links
 March 2011

Dear ArcLetter Member,

 

The ArcWear™ Electric Arc and Safety Newsletter is NOW from
e-hazard.com too.  
 

 

The newsletter provides a quick update on Arc Rated and Flame Resistant Clothing issues and news from OSHA and standards committees. The newsletter is FREE, reaches over 14,000 people and will bring you up to date on the issues that surround flame resistant clothing for flash fire hazards and the electric arc. For previous newsletters or to sign up, visit http://www.arcwear.com or http://www.e-Hazard.com

Survey Results from Februrary's Newsletter

Revised Feb NL Results

 
March Survey Question:
 
What items should be on arcflash labels?
  

OSHA Updating 1910.269, NFPA Updating 70E 2012 

NFPA 70E Train the Trainer Scheduled


Hard to believe that the New NFPA 70E will be out in September 2011.  Also the new OSHA 1910.269 and the construction standard will be updated in May 2011 (according to the OSHA Agenda). 

 

Click here to see the Agenda from OSHA.

 

Click here to see the current wording of 1910.269 from July, 2010.

 

Click here to see the NFPA 70E 2012 Info.

 

Our Train the Trainer gives qualified trainers (over 325 to date) access to one of the best and most up-to-date training on NFPA 70E.  Attend for the first time or come back at a discounted date and refresh your knowledge. 

 

First time attendees receive over $2000 in videos, the e-Hazard training materials (valued at over $5000) and our Instructor Workbook, Student Handbooks for LV and HV and our Operator's 45 min training class, our NESC Class if qualified, and our Refresher classes.  Purchase our workbooks and you can use our materials for your workers or if you are qualified you can train other companies with our materials.

 

The next TTT will be in Louisville, KY Dec. 5-8, 2011.

 

Register Now for NFPA 70E Train the Trainer

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Interested in purchasing the 7 Habits DVD but not sure if it's right for you?  

 

You can now watch a 4 minute clip before you buy!

 

 

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 7 Electrical Safety Habits  

Burn Up The Myth

Dear Hugh,

 

I have been looking at the question of ATPV, following the CEN Consultant's evaluation of IEC 61482-2. I wondered if you could shed some light on my question.

 

If the ATPV for a fabric or system is calculated at the level where 2nd degree burns occur, is this taken into account in the Arc Flash calculations or in the selection of clothing systems? In other words, does the protection worn usually have a higher ATPV than the equipment is rated for, in order to provide a safety margin and to ensure there will not be 2nd degree burns?

 

This seems to be the CEN Consultant's concern, that if the ATPV is at the 50% probability of burns, then there is still a risk of workers being burned when wearing the correct PPE. I have read through NFPA 70E and various other articles but I can't see anything on this subject.

 

Answer:

 

There are several things that play into this.

 

1. All testing is done at 8KA for the IEC -1-1 testing and ASTM F1959.  We have done substantial work which shows that as the fault current increases clothing is 2X or more protective.  Most faults are >8KA (we chose this current to make the testing more conservative).

 

2. The calculations in IEEE 1884 are approximately 80% worst case so matching the energy.

 

3. A study of 40 accidents has shown that the arc ratings are very conservative. IEEE paper by Dan Doan, Tom Neal and Hugh Hoagland (see IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop for the paper).

 

4. The testing is done on a flat panel which is the worst case.  We see better results on garments.  Garments touch the skin on approximately 40% of the body or less in most cases.

 

5. The 50% probability of burns is most cases is near the 10% probability of burns.  We chose the 50% because it is what we have statistically adequate points to state.  To do 10% or less would require approximately 100 points statistically.  One can use those numbers but they will could be unreliable.

 

6. The flash fire standards allow 50% body burn which can be 2nd degree or 3rd degree burn.  The arc flash standard only allows 2nd degree burn on the 80% worst case portion of the arc flash.  This is lightyears beyond flash fire protection because we can predict arc flash energies better.

 

7. Arc flashes are very focused events.  So only a small portion of the body will get the maximum energy in the arc and only that small portion will receive ANY burn if the clothing protection is overcome.  Out of over 100 accidents I have helped investigate, only 3 have recieved more than 25% body burn IF clothing didn't ignite (one was 26%, two were about 80% but they were oil filled transformers or cables and ~10 cal protective systems).  Most were UNDER protected by NFPA 70E standards yet the percentage body burn was less than 25%.

 

8. Substantial research is ongoing in the Box method 1-2 and in the Arc Rating method 1-1.  I believe a hybrid method will be developed with a plasma rating / IR rating that will combine the ejected arc of ASTM F2676 and the indirect IR arc of ASTM F1959 (In ASTM F1959 an arc front starts hitting the panel/hood at about 20 cal/cm2 so higher levels in F1959 are really exponentially more protective).

 

9. Second degree burns was chosen because they are curable burns.  The normally do not leave scarring and if limited to less than 25% of the body or less, they rarely lead to death.  What of first degree burns.  The goal of any company is to eliminate fatalities and worker injuries.

 

In worst case senarios workers can get limited body burn in arc flash events no matter what the test method or the calculation method.  The arc flash standards, either ASTM or IEC provide information for specifiers to provide reasonable parameters to their clothing specs for arc flash.  They also allow product to product comparison in a lab arc flash.  The higher the level of protection chosen the less risk of all burns but one must weigh this with compliance by the workers, other hazards, worker acceptance and other concerns.

 

The ASTM F1959, IEC 61482-1-1, and IEC 61482-1-2 standards are designed to protect workers from arc flash in ways that work clothing have never protected before.  Using arc flash calculations and these standards will do a much better job than NOT doing calculations and only using the IEC 61882-1-2.  The 1-2 standard is hazard assessment and testing built into one BUT it has two levels which do not take into account all arc flash events.  It is really built around a meter box at a home service and is very adequate for those exposures.  The 1-1 or the ASTM F1959 test is not dependent on the exposure because we measure the incident energy on each test.  The IEC method 1-2 measures at the start of testing but not during the test except under the cloth.  The round robin testing for ASTM F1959 and precision testing has shown this test to be very reliable intra and between the few labs which have done this test.  Most PPE in the world has been tested to this method allowing direct comparison.  Some lab differences remain in the 1-2 testing but this method also eliminates ignitable, melting materials so I'm really a fan of using either test but none of the current tests mean workers will never be burned in arc flashes.  Most lives are saved by stopping ignition and melting.  Extra protection saves a few more lives but results in better quality of life by reducing burn percentage and severity.  The best practice today is using NFPA 70E or CSA Z462 and IEEE 1584 for choosing PPE by calculations and risk assessment.  Choosing arc rated clothing is the most important decision a company can make for preventing arc flash deaths.

Fines by OSHA on Electrical Hazards this Month
Most citations this month include electrical hazards. 
Fuse used

Click here to see the citations and our commentary.
New Electrical Safety Articles & Video
We scour the web for the BEST articles.
Here are some articles published recently on arc flash and electrical safety. 

 

NEW Articles

 

NEW Videos Posted

 

ArcWear™ Arc Testing Dates
2011

March 21-25 
  April 18-22 
May 2-6 
June 13-17 
July 5-9 
August 15-19 
Sept 12-16   
Oct 11-16 
Nov 7-11 
Dec 12-16 
ASTM F1959, ASTM F2178, ASTM F887 fall protection arc testing and mannequin testing at the Kinectrics Lab in
Toronto on the dates above.
 
Ship materials or clothing to:
 
Hugh Hoagland
ArcWear.com
13113 Eastpoint Park Blvd.
Suite E
Louisville, KY
40223
PH: 502-333-0510
arctesting@ArcWear.com

 
We must receive one week before the test date for sample preparation or make arrangements to ship to lab. New and non US/Canadian Customers must make payment before test date.  Testing is offered on a first come/first served basis with priority for consulting customers. 

 
New policies:
  • $100 per material for prep/washing and cutting panels ($200 for items arriving less than 7 days before test date to cover preparation overtime)
  • $150 for international hard copy report shipping or notarization requests.


 

No guarantee is made of when testing will occur but we usually test the month of receipt.
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 Blog Entries This Month 

03-12-2011 10:21:04 AM

"Current State of FR Clothing" is a quick overview of some important parts of the need for arc rated clothing.  I prefer not to use "FR" and try to stop myself since it isn't clearly defined other than in the proper standards.  "FR" is a very generic term.  Use arc rated for clothing meeting ASTM F1506 for clothing in arc flash, F1891 for rainwear in arc flash.  In flash fire use NFPA 2112 for clo...

Read Full Post
  
03-12-2011 10:10:46 AM

A  man in his 50's was seriously injured after touching or stepping on a live power line.  It was unclear immediately how the cable came down but it was possibly due to a lightning strike.  The injured man was admitted to the hospital and was listed in  stable condition having undergone surgery. Click here to read more about power line incident

Read Full Post
  
03-12-2011 10:10:21 AM

Three groundsmen were seriously shocked and burned when the rugby post they were installing came into contact with a 33Kv overhead line.  The school was fined  �6,000 and ordered to pay �4,274.40 in  costs. Click here to read more about overhead powerline incident

Read Full Post
  
03-12-2011 10:09:25 AM

NorthWestern Energy, an investor owned utility and a Montana company has been issued citations after an employee was inured while working on high-voltage equipment.  The apprentice lineman came in contact with 7,200 volts and was seriously injured.  The company was issued a repeat citation for failing to implement a minimum approach distance from high-voltage equipment and two serious violations f...

Read Full Post
  
03-12-2011 09:54:04 AM

A 65 year old man who was thrown from a ladder by an electrical shock died as a result of the fall.  The man was working on a cable near a roof-top electric fence of a neighboring building.  He sustained a fatal head inury in the fall. Click here to read more about South Aftrican fatality

Read Full Post
  
03-12-2011 09:53:26 AM

Two construction workers in Arkansas were killed when the scaffolding they were standing on fell onto a power line. Click here to read more about Arkansas Fatalities

Read Full Post
  
03-12-2011 09:52:41 AM

A 71 year old master electrician was electrocuted while working on an electrical panel at a California university.  He was working alone and his body was discovered when he did not return when expected.  The electrician had over 50 years of experience.  The investigation into his death is on-going. click here to read more about fatal electrical incident in CA

Read Full Post
  
02-22-2011 00:57:12 AM

In This Issue Poll Results: Arc Flash Protection Provided New Poll: What training to you provide? TTT: Last Chance OSHA Fines this Month NEW Electrical Safety Articles & Video Arc Test Dates Up Coming Training Events Blog Entries This Month Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor Sponsor ...

Read Full Post
Our newsletter is sponsored by many companies around the world.  If you have ideas for articles or have questions, don't hesitate to write.

 

Sincerely,

Hugh Hoagland
ArcWear.com
13113 Eastpoint Park Blvd. Suite E
Louisville, KY 40223
Office: 502-333-0510