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Compliance & Risk Management
Topic: ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Who’s ‘Qualified’ to Work Near Electrical Hazards, Part 1 of 4

September 14, 2008

In the world of operations, maintenance, service and construction, employees must be "qualified" if they're going to be exposed to electrical hazards capable of injuring, disabling or killing them. This series will summarize what the qualification regulations require. Today, I'll discuss the source of qualification requirements in the U.S. and Canada.

Electrical Safety Qualification Regulations

Qualification regulations differ slightly by industry. But the general thrust and intent is the same: to ensure that employees, contractors and service personnel are competent to work on or near electrical hazards.

In the U.S., the primary source of regulation is federal. There are at least three parts of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that set standards of qualification for electrical work:

  • Title 29 Part 1910 for General Industry including Electric Utilities (under OSHA);
  • Title 29 Part 1926 for the Construction Industry (under OSHA); and
  • Title 30 Part 75 and 77 for Coal Mines (under the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)).

In Canada, qualification requirements are included in the various provincial OHS regulations, e.g., Part 19 of the BC OHS Regulation and in Electrical Codes.

Electrical Safety Qualification Standards

In addition to regulations, there are electrical safety standards promulgated by non-governmental standards organizations addressing qualifications for persons who work on or near electrical hazards. The standards that affect most companies in the U.S. are:

  • National Fire Protection Association NFPA 70 - National Electrical Code




OSHA's GREATEST HITS

Aftermath of the BP Texas City disaster

5 Biggest Fines in OSHA History

By Glenn Demby

Three things stand out about the Bush Administration's OSHA policy:

  • The relative lack of interest in developing new standards and regulations;
  • The aggressive promotion of voluntary compliance programs like VPP; and
  • The enforcement strategy of concentrating inspection resources on targeted rather than random inspections.

History will prove the ultimate judge of how effective these policies were. But say what will you about OSHA under Bush, there's one fact that's undeniable: Two of the three biggest fines OSHA ever handed out occurred during the Bush years.

Last July, the "bronze medal" of OSHA fines, if you will, was imposed--$8.77 million against a sugar company following a fatal explosion at a Port Wentworth, GA, refinery. Since OSHA doesn't keep such a list, I had to piece together what I believe are the Top 5 fines in OSHA history.

RANK FINE (millions) COMPANY DATE DESCRIPTION
1 $21.4 BP 2005 OSHA finds more than 300 violations after Texas City refinery explosion and fire kills 15 and injures 170
2 $11.5 IMC Fertilizer 1991 Explosion in fertilizer plant in Sterlington, LA, kills 8 workers and injures 128 others
3 $8.7 Imperial Sugar 2008 (July) OSHA finds 222 violations at two Georgia sugar refineries after an explosion at one of the facilities kills 13 and puts 40 in the hospital
4 $6 Citgo Petroleum 1991 Explosion at Citgo refinery kills six workers
5 $4 Phillips 66 1989 OSHA finds 756 violations after series of explosions in Houston chemical plant kills 23 and injures 314

The Canadian Perspective

Tracking down Canadian OHS fines is even harder. However, I'm fairly certain that the largest OHS fines-as opposed to fines under criminal and environmental laws-have never topped the $1 million level. If any of you know about a million dollar OHS fine from Canada, please let me know. glennd@bongarde.com.

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