Contact with Power Lines
Overhead and buried power lines are especially hazardous because they carry extremely high voltage.
Fatalities are possible as electrocution is the main risk; however, burns and falls from elevations are also hazards that workers are exposed to while working in the vicinity of high voltage power lines. Workers may not realize that cranes are not the only equipment that reaches overhead power lines. Working on a ladder or in a man-basket suspended under or near power lines also poses a risk of electrocution. Please click here to review Toolbox Talk 1.
Important to note: The covering on an overhead power line is primarily for weather protection; therefore, workers need to know if they touch a power line, covered or bare, death is likely.
Voltages of overhead lines range from 120 to 750,000 volts. The most reliable way to know the voltage is to ask the utility company that owns the line. OSHA requires that equipment be kept at least 10 feet away from power lines with voltages up to 50 kilovolts (kV).
![[Alt-Title]](images/812_7_3_PowerLinesB.png)
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
7-3. OSHA requires that equipment be kept _____ away from power lines with voltages up to 50 kilovolts (kV).
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