Personal factors and consequences of electrical occupational accidents in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors

摘要

Electrical accidents at work are characterised by the severity of the damage caused. Since the circumstances surrounding this type of accidents can have an impact on their outcome, this study identifies significant relationships between personal factors and the consequences of these accidents for various sectors of activity. This study is based on an analysis of dependence relationships in 55 categories classified into 10 variables associated with 14,022 electrical accidents which occurred in Spain between 2003 and 2012. The results obtained show that the three sectors of activity are impacted differently by electrical accidents for both direct and indirect contact. Likewise, a higher proportion of severe and fatal accidents is confirmed compared to the total number of accidents in the country; this figure is multiplied by 22 in the case of fatal accidents due to direct electrical contact in the primary sector. The analysis of personal factors identified statistically significant relationships between this type of accident and the workers' sex, age, experience, nationality and occupation. These results show that the competent authorities must promote actions to verify that the installations and equipment used in the workplace comply with applicable legislation regarding protection against direct and indirect electrical contact. Likewise, it is necessary to design strategies to provide workers with education and training that is adapted to their personal and occupational circumstances to protect them against electrical risks. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.