ABSTRACT
Human beings have been exposed to electrical hazards since the dawn of time. Initially, electrical hazards were associated with natural phenomena, like atmospheric or electrostatic discharges. The rst effective protective device was the lightning conductor invented by Benjamin Franklin. However, only when humans developed industrial applications of electric current at the end of nineteenth century did people realise the dangers of electrical energy. The rst standardisation bodythe International Electrotechnical Commission-was then established, aimed at developing principles of prevention from electrical hazards. The commission has since developed a few thousand standards covering different issues of prevention, such as the effects of electric current upon humans and the environment.
