Intelligent Power Today Magazine

A new method to choosing personal protective equipment

BY JIM WHITE, Shermco Industries, Inc.

Table 130.7(C)(15)(a) in the 2012 edition of NFPA 70E: “Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace”, published by the National Fire Protection Association, has always been difficult for technicians and safety professionals to use in the field. Even though it has an outstanding record since being introduced in the 2000 edition of NFPA 70E, some members of the technical committee have been solidly against it.

One of those committee members stated that if the tables were eliminated, everyone would be forced to have an incident...

I recently viewed a destroyed 600-volt electrical panel board that had exploded when an operator reset an 800-ampere (A) breaker. His leather-palmed gloves had synthetic backs that ignited and seriously burned the back of his hands. His flame-resistant (FR) shirt was untucked and he was burned on his right side.

It is unfortunate that he was not following Canadian Standards Association’s CSA Z462 standard: “Workplace Electrical Safety” clause 4.3.7.3.10 (d). It is incredibly fortunate that his employer provided arc-rated clothing, as only a few years ago, he would have been wearing cotton coveralls.

Consequently, this incident would have resulted...