How to give a toolbox talk on arc flash explosions
The US Department of Labor estimates that every day in the United States five to ten arc flash explosions occur on the job. Arc flashes are incredibly violent and devastating to any worker exposed to the instantaneous phenomenon. Most of the time the exposure will result in serious injury or even death. Electrical equipment is designed to withstand up to a certain amount of current. The arc flash occurs when an electrical device suffers very high amount of current within a fraction of a second. Some factors that can cause an arc flash include failure to deenergize components, dust, dropped tools, corrosion, or reduced insulation. Arc flash temperatures can reach 35,000° F, which is 3 times hotter than the surface of the sun. An arc flash also can produce noise reaching 140 decibels, (about as loud as a gunshot) and molten metal shrapnel. Equipment is typically so seriously damaged that it needs to be replaced, which can be very costly to the project or existing structure.