ESFI White Paper - Occupational Electrical Accidents in the U.S., 2003-2009

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is a non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to promoting electrical safety at home and in the workplace. Founded in 1994 as a cooperative effort by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), ESFI is funded by voluntary contributions from electrical manufacturers, distributors, independent testing laboratories, retailers, insurers, utilities, safety organizations, and trade and labor associations.

 

To better promote electrical safety in the workplace, the ESFI seeks to provide objective data on occupational electrical accidents to help decision-makers better allocate safety resources so they may have the maximum impact. This paper builds on earlier work[1] by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and supplements it with new information on electrical accidents as it becomes available. The data in this report cover U.S. occupational electrical accidents that occurred from 2003 to 2009. These data include the total number of electrical injuries and fatalities, the industries and occupations in which they occurred, and the rates of electrical injury and fatality for selected industries.