RIVERSIDE -- State Compensation Insurance Fund and the California Public Utility Safety Alliance will jointly sponsor a safety seminar about the dangers of working near overhead and underground gas and electrical lines on April 4 in Riverside. The seminar, “Contractor Beware: Safety around Overhead and Underground Gas and Electric Lines,” is specifically designed for workers and contractors in the agricultural and construction industries.

When a worker or the equipment he is using comes into contact with an overhead electrical line, a shock can occur that can lead to severe burns or death. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), electrocutions from contact with overhead power lines result in an average of 128 work-related fatalities each year. Agricultural workers are particularly subject to the hazards of electricity because tall equipment, such as grain augers, combines, and raised dump truck beds can become entangled in overhead power lines. The National Agricultural Safety Database reports that more than 60 electrocutions per year occur on farms. In addition, striking an underground gas line can cause an explosion that can kill or injure workers and others in the area.

In order to prevent death and serious injury, contractors and employees working around natural gas and power lines need to follow safe practices and procedures to identify these hazards in advance. The seminar will focus on explaining the dangers involved when working around overhead electrical and underground gas lines, and how to avoid making costly and tragic mistakes. The seminar will also address what to do if an accident does occur at the work location.
 
Featured speakers are State Fund safety experts Katherine Moore and Mary Sawasaki, as well as Charles Basham, Manager of Public Safety for Southern California Edison (SCE).

“By following established safety procedures, workers can learn to locate and identify underground and overhead utilities in advance, and hopefully, prevent death and serious injury from occurring,” said State Fund’s Katherine Moore. “That’s the goal of this seminar.”

The seminar will be held at State Fund’s Riverside District Office, 6301 Day Street. The seminar schedule is as follows and will be conducted in both Spanish and English:

• Construction
  9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. (English)
  10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (Spanish)
• Agriculture
  1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (English)
  2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Spanish)

Register now for this or other available seminars.

The State Fund seminar is supported by a coalition of public utility companies: Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, City of Anaheim, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, California Public Utilities Commission - Utilities Safety & Reliability Branch, San Diego Gas and Electric, Southern California Gas Company, and IID Energy, a division of Imperial Irrigation District. The event is sponsored by the Western Regional Master Builders Association, Golden State Builders Exchanges, and the California Farm Bureau Federation.
 
The Riverside seminar is part of a series of educational programs State Compensation Insurance Fund is holding throughout the state in order to help employers create safe workplaces. State Fund has the largest safety and health services program among California workers’ compensation insurance carriers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Established by the California Legislature in 1914, San Francisco-based State Compensation Insurance Fund is a self-supporting, nonprofit, fairly competitive public enterprise that provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage at cost to California employers.