ASTM_E_2345_-_04.pdf

Designation:E 2345 04Standard Practice forInvestigating Electrical Incidents1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E 2345;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon(e)indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This practice covers guidelines for the recognition,documentation,collection and preservation of potentially rel-evant information and physical items involving electricalincidents,electrical injury,and/or the electrocution of individu-als in low and medium voltage residential and industrialinstallations.1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E 620 Practice for Reporting Opinions of Technical ExpertsE 678 Practice for Evaluation of Technical DataE 860 Practice for Examining and Testing Items ThatAre orMay Become Involved in LitigationE 1020 Practice for Reporting Incidents2.2NFPA Standards:NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations3NFPA 70 E Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements forEmployee Workplaces3NFPA 70 National Electric Code32.3Other Standards:ANSI IEEE Std 81-1983 IEEE Guide for Measuring EarthResistivity,Ground Impedance,and Earth Surface Poten-tials of a Ground System4UL 943 UL Standard for Safety for Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters5U.S.Department of Labor,Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration(OSHA)Title 29 Code of Federal Regu-lations,29 CFR,1910.56U.S.Department of Labor,Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration(OSHA)Title 29 Code of Federal Regu-lations,(29 CFR)Subpart S,29 CFR 1910.302 through1910.399 of the General Industry Safety and HealthStandards7U.S.Department of Labor,Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration(OSHA)Title 29 Code of Federal Regu-lations,(29 CFR)Subpart K,Electrical 29 CFR 1926.400through 1926.408 of the Construction Safety and HealthStandards8U.S.Department of Health and Human Services,PublicHealth Service,Centers for Disease and Prevention,Na-tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH)“Worker Deaths By ElectrocutionA Sum-mary of NIOSH Surveillance and Investigative Findings”IEC 479-1 Technical Report,Type 2 Effects of Current onHuman Beings and LivestockIEC 479-2 Technical Report,Type 2 Effects of CurrentPassing Through the Human Body3.Significance and Use3.1 In the United States,electrocutions in the home numberabout 560 per year,while industry electrocutions are the fifthleading cause of occupational deaths,accounting for 5348deaths,or about seven percent of all work-related deaths for theperiod between 1980 and 1992.Electrical burns account for 4to 6.5%of all admissions to burn units in the United States and1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E30 on ForensicSciences and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E30.05 on Engineering.Current edition approved April 1,2004.Published May 2004.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Available from National Fire Protection Association(NFPA),1 BatterymarchPark,Quincy,MA 02269-9101.4Available from American National Standards Institute(ANSI),25 W.43rd St.,4th Floor,New York,NY 10036.5Available from Underwriters Laboratories(UL),Corporate Progress,333Pfingsten Rd.,Northbrook,IL 60062.629 CFR(1999)1910.5(a)“Except as provided in paragraph(b)of this section,the standards contained in this part shall apply with respect to employmentperformed in a workplace in a State,the District of Columbia,the Commonwealthof Puerto Rico,the Virgin Islands,American Samoa”729 CFR(1999)1910.302(2)“Every electric utilization system and allutilization equipment installed after March 15,1972,and every major replacement,modification,repair,or rehabilitation,after March 15,1972,of any part of anyelectric utilization system or utilization equipment installed before March 15,1972,shall comply with the provisions of Sections 1910.302 through 1910.308.”8Subpart K of 29 CFR 1926.402 through 1926.408 of the OSHA ConstructionSafety and Health Standards contain installation safety requirements for electricalequipment and installations used to provide electric power and light at the jobsite.These sections apply to both temporary and permanent installations used on thejobsite.1Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959,United States.account for approximately 800 fatalities per year in the UnitedStates from 1984 through 1987.3.2 Recording o