SAN JOSE/SAN FRANCISCO – State Compensation Insurance Fund and the California Utility Public Safety Alliance will jointly sponsor a safety seminar about the dangers of working near overhead and underground utilities including gas and electric lines on September 12 in San Jose. The seminar - Contractor Beware: Safety Around Overhead and Underground Gas and Electric Lines - is free-of-charge.

According to National Institute of 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 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 order to prevent death and serious injury, contractors and employees working around natural gas and power lines need to follow safety 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, how to avoid these dangers, and what to do if an accident does occur at the work location.

Featured speaker is Steve Miramontes, Safety Program Consultant for Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E).

The seminar - scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. - will be held at State Fund’s San Jose District Office, 6203 San Ignacio Avenue.

To register, please call Mathew Fears at (408) 363-7442 or fax at (408) 574-6557. To register via e-mail, please e-mail: mmfears@scif.com.

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 San Jose 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.

Additional seminars in this series of educational programs are also available.