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Workers such as electricians, apprentices, power line workers, and other groups of employees work directly with electricity and may be exposed to dangerous conditions if adequate precautions are not taken. Workers are injured or killed every year in California due to occupational accidents involving uncontrolled exposure to electricity. When shortcuts are taken and safe procedures are not followed, loss of life, permanent disfigurement, lost work time, increased workers’ compensation costs, and lawsuits can occur.
Scope
Cal/OSHA regulations on electrical safety require California employers to provide minimum safety requirements and assist in the elimination of accidents which may result from the operation, installation, removal, use and maintenance of electrical equipment and tools.
These Low-Voltage Electrical Safety Orders apply to:
- All electrical installations and electrical equipment operating or intended to operate on systems of 600 volts, nominal, or less; and
- To all work performed directly on or in proximity to such electrical installations, equipment, or systems in all places of employment in the State of California.
Section 1518 addresses the safety requirements for the protection of employees and others from electric shock in construction. Section 1541 addresses electrical safety requirements for excavation works including subsurface installations. California’s state requirements for electrical safety include a substantial amount of regulatory information beyond the federal requirements. Click the following links to view applicable requirements.
Citations
California: Title 8, Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 5, Group 1. Low-Voltage Electrical Safety Orders
California: Title 8, Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 4, Article 3, Section 1518. Protection from Electric Shock
California: Title 8, Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 4, Article 6, Section 1541. General Requirements
Federal: 29 CFR 1910 Subpart S
These Orders do not apply to:
- Installations or conductors and equipment in ships, watercraft, railway rolling stock, aircraft, or automotive vehicles other than mobile homes and recreational vehicles.
- Installations of conductors and equipment in vehicles, operating at less than 50 volts or to their ignition system, unless otherwise specified.
- Installations of conductors, equipment, and associated enclosures subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission, that are owned, operated, and maintained by an electric, communication, or electric railway utility. However, Article 3, the work procedures listed below, apply to all work performed by electric utilities as well as items 1 and 2 above.
Exception: These orders apply to conduit, vaults, and other like enclosures containing the conductors and equipment of such a utility when located indoors on premises not used exclusively for utility purposes, but do not apply to the utility’s conductors and the equipment therein.
Treat all electrical equipment and systems as energized until tested or otherwise proven to be de-energized.