Why Should You Care About Electrical Safety
Every year in the U.S., tens of thousands of people are killed or injured from contact with electricity. Some of these people are kids just like you. The more you know about how electricity works, the better you can keep yourself, your friends, and your family safe!
Electricity Takes the Easiest Path to the Ground
Electricity is always trying to get to the ground. Like all good travelers, electricity takes shortcuts whenever it can. If something that conducts electricity gives electricity an easy path to the ground, electricity will take it!
Electricity Can Travel Through You
Water and metal are some of the best conductors for electricity. Because your body is mostly water, you are a great conductor, too! So if you touch an electric circuit and the ground at the same time, you will become electricity’s easiest path. Electricity will flow through you, and you could be seriously hurt or killed.
You don’t have to be touching the ground directly to conduct electricity. You could also be touching something that is in contact with the ground, like a tree or a ladder.
Electricity, You, and Water
Water is an excellent conductor. You can become electricity’s path to the ground if you are touching water that touches electricity. Electricity would travel through the water and through you to the ground.
This is why it’s so important to keep all electrical appliances away from water, and to make sure your hands are dry and you are not standing in water when you touch anything electrical. It’s also the reason no one should ever use water on an electrical fire, but should use a multipurpose fire extinguisher instead.
Electricity, You, and Appliances
Appliances have protective insulated cords and coverings to keep you from contacting the electricity inside. It’s important to use appliances and cords the way they were designed to be used so you don’t damage the insulation or contact live electrical parts. If a live wire inside an appliance, toy, or power tool touches the inside of the device and you touch the device, it would be like touching a bare live wire. You cannot tell from the outside if there is a problem inside, so you should always act as if there were danger of shock.
The Truth About Electric Shock
You can never tell when contact with electricity will be fatal, but you can be sure it will always hurt. Electric shock can cause muscle spasms, weakness, shallow breathing, rapid pulse, severe burns, unconsciousness, or death. In a shock incident, the path that electric current takes through the body gets very hot. Burns occur all along that path, including the places on the skin where the current enters and leaves the body. It’s not only giant power lines that can kill or injure you if you contact them. You can also be killed by a shock from an appliance or power cord in your home.,/P>
Why Can Birds and Utility Workers Touch Power Lines But You Can’t?
Have you ever wondered why the birds that sit on power lines don’t get electric shocks? It’s because the electricity is always looking for a way to get to the ground, but the birds are not touching the ground or anything in contact with the ground.
If you touched a power line while you were in contact with the ground (or standing on a ladder or roof) electricity would travel through you. And if your kite or balloon got tangled in a power line and you touched the string, electricity could travel down the string and into you on its way to the ground. Both situations would mean a serious shock!
Have you ever wondered why people who work up on power lines don’t get shocked? Utility workers are trained to work with electricity. They wear special insulated boots, hardhats, and gloves, and use special insulated tools that help prevent shock. It would be a bad idea to climb a power pole and imitate them — and possibly fatal!
Tree & Power Line Safety
Do you like to climb and play in trees? Follow these tips to help keep yourself and your friends safe:
- Never climb in or play in trees that are growing next to power lines.
- Never touch a power line with your hand or with any other object, whether you are in a tree or on the ground.
- Don’t build a tree house, fort, or anything else in a tree that is next to power lines.
- Tell an adult if you see trees growing close to high-voltage power lines or contacting these lines. (High-voltage lines are the ones at the very top of power poles.)
- If you see a power line that has fallen into a tree or onto the ground, stay away and tell an adult immediately. Even if they are not sparking or humming, fallen lines can kill you if you touch them or the ground nearby.
- Tell an adult if you see someone trimming a tree next to a high-voltage power line. Certified professional tree trimmers are the only ones allowed to do this.
- Plant only trees that will not grow tall or wide enough to contact nearby power lines.
- Before planting a tree, call your local utility locator service to make sure you won’t dig into underground power lines.
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