University of Nebraska - Lincoln
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Historical Materials from University of NebraskaLincoln Extension
Extension
1967
EC67-718 Caution Look Up : Power Lines May be
Overhead
Rollin D. Schnieder
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Schnieder, Rollin D., "EC67-718 Caution Look Up : Power Lines May be Overhead" (1967). Historical Materials from University of
Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Paper 3827.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/3827
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A
E. C. 67 - 71 8
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POWER LINES
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BE OVERHEAD
E X TE NSION
UNIV E RSITY
OF
N E BRASKA
AND
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D E PARTM E NT
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AGRICULTUR E
J . L.
ADAMS ,
AND
HOME
COOP E RATING
DI R ECTOR
ECONOMICS
ccidsnfs are
caused b4 carelessness
• Be, careful ....
• Avoid accidents ...
• Don't be a Statistic ..
By Rollin D. Schnieder
Extension Specialist, Safety
2
Fl yi ng a kite near electric wires is dangerous. When
fl yi ng a kite, always ma ke sure th e kite string is dry. If yo u
use wet stri ng, a wire, or a stri ng with wire in it, yo u are
asking for tro ubl e. Do n' t try to free a kite from high Yoltage
wires if it ge ts ta ngled up in them. R emember, Ben Fra nklin h as already discovered electrici ty by t he use o f a kite.
D o n' t attempt to discover it in th e sa m e way.
3
Irrigation pipe need not touch an overhead power line
to kill the handler. A workman may lift a light irrigation
pipe to be moved to a new location or to be placed on an
irrigation trailer. If he lifts the pipe too high and comes
close to or in contact with an overhead power supply line,
death usually results.
4
N ever stack hay und er a power line. i\ [a n y perso ns h ave
bee n electrocuted simpl y beca use they didn ' t LOOK UP.
i\ fodern h ay ing equipmem o pera te high a bove the gro und .
The careless o perator who g ue ses that his m achine will go
und er high vo ltage wires is asking for tro ubl e. Always a llow
fo r un even gro und a nd bo un cing o [ the machin e.
5
\l a teri als ha ndling eq uipme nt that is careless ly used
ca n ca use serious injury or d ea th. El eva tors used to fill corn
cribs ca n accid entall y to uch overh ea d power wires. Anyo ne
co ming in co ntact with th e elc\·ator co uld be electrocuted.
everal persons ma be electrocuted, sin ce mo re tha n o ne
perso n usuall y is needed to pl ace th e elevator in pos iti o n.
Oth er m ate rial h a ndling equi pment such as a uger wagons,
trucks with spo uts o n them, a nd mixing uni ts are eq uall y
d a ngerous. r\ farm wiring ystem sho uld be plann ed to
a llow at least o ne passage-way [or the move ment of tall
equi pm ent.
6
Cra ne a nd booms coming 111 con tact with power lines
h ave ca used ma n y d ea ths in 1e bras ka. Cra ne opera to rs
sho uld be wa rn ed to stay away fro m overh ea d power lin es.
In m a ny cases , the operator m ay not be injured severe! ;
h owever, wo rkm en sta nding o n the gro und wh o come near
o r to uch th e m achin e are usuall y th e o nes who are injured
o r kill ed. Sa fety d ev ices a re a a il a ble fo r boom o r cran es.
They will in sul ate th e machin e fro m t he hig h voltage wires
in case electri ca I co n tact is mad e.
7
Well drilling rig o pera ted cl ose to power lin es ca use
m a n dea ths in :\Te braska.
ever le t th e equipm ent come
nea r th ese wire~. R emember, it's th e wo rker on the g ro und
who u uall y is hu r t. Be ure tha t the machin e is o ut o (
reach o f p ower lin e " ·ben yo u a re repa irin g a nd clea ning it.
8
1
J
T
a n tennas sh o uld never be in sta ll ed near a po wer
line. M a ke sure they are far eno ugh away o tha t the a ntenn as ca nn o t come in co ntact wit h power lin es. Gu ess ing
is not good eno ugh. In m a n y cases inexperi enced persons
attempt to repa ir a TV a nte nn a. If the an tenn a is top·
heaYy, or if th e wind is trong, it m a break away a nd a ll ow
the mast o r g uy wires to to uch a nea rby power lin e. An yo n e
working o n th e a ntenn a o r h o lding a g uy wire will be serio usl y injured o r kill ed . Th ere is also a possibi li ty of setting
the h o use o n fire.
9
Pruning trees ca n be a dangerous job if elec tric power
lin es a re cl ose ..-\ limb fa lling aga in st a pO\rer lin e ca n
ca u e d ea th to an)one in contact with the li mb. Th e falling
limb also co u ld ca use the power lin e to brea k . N o tify power
compa ni es in adva nce of pruning if th ese hazard exi st.
10
Stay awa from fa ll e n overhead wires. An yone wh o
to uch es them may be kill ed .
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11
!\: e ver to uch a perso n who is in co ntact with a n e lectr ic
power so urce. Push or pull him away with a dry sti ck. Do
no t use o ne th at co nta in s sa p , in ce it m ay be a co ndu ctor o [
elec tricity. A dry ro pe also m ay be used. ;\l a ke ure th e
rescuer is sta ndin g o n dry gro und . Attem p t this resc ue o nl y
if yo u a re willing to acce pt grave risk of yo ur life.
Do n ' t fi g ure o n Lad y Luck to wa tch over th e sa fe ty of
yo u a nd yo u r co-workers. It is up to yo u to rea lize th a t
d a ngers exist a round hig h vo ltage e lectri ca l equ ipm ent.
Usuall y it is impos ible to remove th ese d a ngers. Yo u ca n ,
ho weve r, acce pt th e fact th at haza rd s d o exist.
e good
judgment a nd lea rn to li,·e with th ese haza rds.
12
Tree spraying has become very essential for most cities and villages. Operators should keep the spray mist and passenger platform
away from overhead power poles. Don't electrocute yourself while
trying to kill the bugs.
13
What Should Be Done in Case of an Accident?
If yo u are successful in freeing the victim , sta rt art ifi cial respiration
at once if the victim is not brea thing.
The two m e thods o f artifi cial respi ra tio n recommencled are the
mouth-to-mouth a nd back press ure-arm li ft. In the case of electric
shock, the muscles controllin g the breathing sys tem are para lyzed or
deepl y d epr essed , or ca rbo n m o nox id e h as di splaced o x yge n in th e
bl ood strea m. \ Vhen these cases ar e enco untered , artificia l resp ira tio n
must ofte n be carried o n for lo ng periods of time.
There ar c cases w here the victim m ay be breathing, but m ay st ill
n eed ass ista n ce. ln situ atio ns such as this, the person giving a rtifi cial
respiration should tim e his e fforts to co in cid e w ith th e victim 's auem p t
to brea the for himself.
If vomiting occurs during a rtifi cia l resp iratio n , quickly t urn the
vict im o n his side, wipe o ut th e m o uth, re pos itio n him a nd then continu e artific ial r espira tion.
' ''hen the victim is revived , he sho uld be kep t as qui et as possible
until he is brea thin g regularl y. H e sho uld be kept covered a nd o th erw ise trea ted for shock until suita bl e tra nsporta tio n is ava il a bl e, or
until a physician a rri ves.
Artificial r espira ti o n sho uld be con tinu ed until th e victim begins
to breath e for himse lf, until a physician pron o un ces him d ead , o r
until h e appears to be d ead beyo nd an y d o ubt.
A d octo r 's ca re is n ecessary during the recover y period , as respiratory a nd oth er distu r ba nces may d eve lo p as a n a ftermath .
Cranes, drillin g rigs, d erricks, and m aterial s h a ndling equipment
m ay com e in contact w ith overh ead power lin es. lf poss ible, the o perato r o f th e m achin e sho uld break co ntact with the lin e. If this is imposs ibl e, th e o per a tor w ill usua ll y be sa fe if he stays in the ca b. lf h e
jum ps clear, he sh o uld not to uch a n y pa rt of th e m achin e o nce h e
1 eaches th e gro und.
El evators, T V a nten nas, and irriga tio n pipes sho uld be h a ndl ed
in such a way as to keep th em awa y fro m power lin es. \ Vind , conditio ns of the gro und , a nd direction o f m ovem ent sho uld be co nsidered
,.,.he n m ov in g tall equipmen t.
A few si mpl e procedures sho uld be foll owed when m ov ing ta ll
cquipment aro und overhead lin es :
1. Pl a n a nd inspec t the route yo u will tra ve l. Kn ow th e h e ig ht or
yo ur equipment a nd a ll power lin es.
2. No tify th e power compa n y o r yo ur pl a ns. Th ey w ill coo pera te
w it h yo u if poss ibl e in prm·idin g safe tra nsportatio n .
14
3. Secure all swin ging parts before movmg. Con ider the possibility of un even ground.
4. Do not raise power lines for any reason.
5. H ave trained perso nn el ob erve equipment in h azardo us area .
_-\ cts of vandalism such as breaking insul ators a nd bulbs,
defacing signs, a nd many oth er types of mali cio us destruction, m ay re ult in a n arrest to the person inflicting the
damage. A heavy fine or impriso nme nt co uld res ult from
this type of activ ity.
uch mali cious de truction can res ult in a loss to the
power suppli er for the cost of repairs and labor, a nd a] o
to th eir employees, who must subj ect th em e lve to extra
dangers while repairing the damage.
15
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