Three-Hundred Forty-Nine Case Studies and Their Consideration of Electrical Accidents in Japan

The continuation and improvement of preventive measures and safety training following electrical accidents are important in reducing the number of accidents in the workplace. A consideration of these preventive measures based on case studies of electrical accidents is required. Consideration may not be sufficient in Japan and other countries, because many electrical accidents involve electric shocks. Thus, continuation and improvement of electrical safety measures are needed. Several research papers on electrical accidents in the workplace have been published; however, a detailed consideration and analysis of case studies are also important, because safety culture and electrical installation differ by country. The use of less than 35-V products and equipment may be needed for thorough prevention of fatal electrical accidents. There are some differences in voltage level by country, which may cause a problem in ultimately reducing the number of accidents. In this study, 349 cases were considered. An assessment of electrocutions has never been performed in Japan; therefore, this paper will summarize the circumstances of electrocutions in Japan based on industry statics. It is the author's expectation that the results will assist in developing possible engineering solutions to reduce electrical accidents.

I. Introduction

Electrical accidents are caused by electric shock [1]–[44], tracking between electrical plugs and outlets with dust, and arc flash. Specifically, electrical accidents caused by electrical shock are the reason why the occurrence of fatal accidents is so high. The percentage of fatalities related to electric shock is more than 10% [33]. The percentage of accidents caused by electric shock is higher than that of occupational accidents due to other causes, and this percentage is occasionally in the top three for all occupational accidents. The number of fatalities is typically in the range of approximately 10 to 20 fatalities in Japan, even though some preventive measures have been implemented to improve the work method and tools. We must reduce the number of fatalities due to electrical shock by improving the preventive measures. For example, electrical fatalities in other countries occur ten times more frequently than fatalities in Japan. Thus, many fatalities are caused by electric shock every year.