Over 300 people are struck by lightning each year in the US!
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, www.osha.gov) in collaboration with NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, www.noaa.gov) publish a fact sheet “Lightning Safety When Working Outdoors,” for outdoor workers, including workers in the construction industry and built environment.
OSHA and NOAA warn that “lightning strikes can severely injure or kill workers whose jobs involve working outdoors.” Regrettably, organizations in the construction industry and built environment from time to time neglect the occupational hazards and safety threats posed by lightning strikes, and endanger the lives of outdoor workers in the field.
Lightning strikes can severely injure or kill workers whose jobs involve working outdoors!
In the introduction to “Lightning Safety When Working Outdoors,” OSHA and NOAA underscore the importance of decision support and actionable intelligence about lightning strikes; each year in the US, cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning strikes about 20 to 25 million times and over 300 people are struck by lightning, resulting in about 50 fatalities and many permanent disabilities.
OSHA and NOAA warn that employers, including contactors, owners and operators, must recognize lightning as an occupational hazard, and accordingly take precautionary measures in order to prevent worker exposure to lightning. Lightning safety is imperative! Further, OSHA and NOAA describe the risks of outdoor works in open spaces, such as on construction sites.
Near tall objects or conductive materials face higher risk to lightning
Outdoor workers in the construction industry and built environment on or near tall objects or near conductive materials, such as metal, face higher risk to lightning strikes. Some of the many examples include ironwork and roofing activities and temporary construction aids such as elevators, hoists, cranes, scaffolding and platforms, and swing staging.
For the construction industry and built environment, OSHA and NOAA list the following ten construction activities, equipment operations, and work results at higher risk to lightning hazards and lightning strikes, across the asset and facility lifecycle from new construction to operations and maintenance (O&M) to shutdowns, turnarounds and outages (STOs):
- Explosives handling or storage
- Heavy equipment operation
- Roofing
- Construction (e.g., scaffolding)
- Building maintenance
- Power utility field repair
- Steel erection
- Telecommunications
- Plumbing and pipe fitting
- Landscaping
More in the next blog post about lightning hazards and lightning safety for the construction industry and built environment…
(Source: https://www.weather.gov/media/owlie/OSHA_FS-3863_Lightning_Safety_05-2016.pdf)
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