Power dangers
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Hauliers need to be aware of the dangers of carrying out work near overhead power lines and ensure safety procedures are in place
Words: Roger Brown On average, two people are killed and many more injured every year when they come into contact with overhead power lines during agricultural, utilities or construction work.
In May this year, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution at Bedford Magistrates’ Court heard how in June 2010 an employee of agricultural haulier Davison & Co (Barford) – owner of College Farm in Great Barford, Bedfordshire – was tipping compost from a truck trailer into a field when it came into contact with a live 33kV power cable overhead.
Lack of necessary legal documentation
No one was injured in this instance, but a subsequent HSE investigation found the company had neglected to complete essential legal documentation relating to the line. This necessary documentation is in line with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and entails carrying out a suitable risk assessment (see boxes).
Davison & Co admitted breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in relation to the tipper incident, was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £500 costs.
Unlike in this particular instance, working near overhead power cables can easily result in death by electrocution or serious injuries, such as burns.
If a piece of machinery or equipment gets too close to, or comes into contact with, an overhead cable, then electricity will be conducted through the machine or equipment to earth. It can also pass through anyone who is touching it.
Electric arcs can also occur, so the person and any equipment or machinery does not have to be touching the lines to get a serious or fatal shock.
Spot the power line
And it’s not only haulage and agricultural equipment that presents a danger. A jet of water, liquid slurry, or a piece of metal coming into contact or near contact with an overhead power line can cause a discharge of electricity and a high risk of fatal or severe shock.
There are also often close calls for hauliers involved in this sector; incidents where no one is injured but power supplies are disrupted can be common.
One of the biggest problems is that people do not identify the position and height of power lines. Those that run across the middle of a field are clearly visible, but if a person passes them every day they may cease to be aware of them.
In addition, lines that run parallel to hedges or the edge of woodland and forest blend into the scenery and can be particularly difficult to spot. Some lines may also run parallel to, or under, other lines, making them hard to see. ■
Case study
Last month, Powys County Council was fined £9,300 after council employees, agency workers and passers-by narrowly avoided electrocution on two occasions when vehicles collecting recycled material to be tipped into trucks struck overhead power lines.
Brecon Magistrates’ Court was told how staff were using kerbside collection vehicles that tip and empty material into lorries.
The incidents – in June and October 2010 at Lluest and Tudor Street in Ystradgynlais respectively – occurred when the vehicles struck low voltage lines during tipping and sent them crashing to the ground.
Powys County Council pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £3,300. The authority also pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the same act and was fined a further £6,000.
HSE inspector Helen Jones says lessons should have been learned after the first incident. “Following the second incident, the council stopped using the vehicles in question and introduced a different system for collecting recycled material from the kerbside,” she explains.
Mike Oliver, a consultant at Berrymans Lace Mawer LLP, says: “As a breach of health and safety regulations, the potential penalties are, if tried summarily in a magistrates’ court, a fine of up to £20,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment or both.
“If dealt with on indictment in the Crown Court, the penalties can be a fine, up to two years’ imprisonment or both.”
NO DANGER
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (Regulation 4(3)) require operators to ensure that systems of work involving electricity are, as far as is reasonably practicable, without danger.
The regulations include a statutory defence under Regulation 29 of due diligence, which means a company will have to provide evidence to show that the electrical systems, equipment and work activity are safe.
In doing so, documentation must show that: • systems have been inspected and tested; • training has been given to staff; • control of work activities are documented (for example, safe systems of work); and • staff are competent to deal with the work.
In the Davison & Co case, the company was found not guilty of breaching Regulation 4(3) of the act.
Andrew Banks, head of crime and regulation at Stone King Solicitors, says: “There is therefore no right answer to the question, it is a matter of having systems in place that will satisfy any enforcement agency or court that you have exercised due diligence.”
RISK ASSESSMENTS
Regulation 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires every employer to make a suitable risk assessment for its employees, as well as those not in its employment relating to such work.
There should always be an assessment of the risks involved in the particular task, those risks should be noted, and the appropriate precautions and safeguards recorded and acted upon, so as to minimise the risk to the health and safety of both employees and the wider public. Risk assessments do not have to be on or in a particular form, but must clearly demonstrate an assessment and analysis of the risks and dangers arising from any particular task, show how these are to be addressed and document the action taken as a result.
HSE inspector Stephen Faulkner says: “It is an employer’s duty to complete all legally required documentation to ensure that necessary steps to protect workers from risk are communicated formally to all relevant parties, including the workers themselves.”
Further information
HSE advice on how to work safely near overhead power lines can be found at: hse.gov.uk/electricity/ information/overhead.htm