ABSTRACT
The ratio of fatalities to injuries is higher for electrical accidents than for most other categories of injury – if an electrical accident occurs, the chances of a fatality are about one in 30 to 40. Despite the beliefs of some, including some electricians, the human body does not develop tolerance to electric shock. The consequences of contact with electricity are: electric shock, where the injury results from the flow of electricity through the body’s nerves, muscles and organs and causes abnormal function to occur (eg the heart stops); electrical burns resulting from the heating effect of the current which burns body tissue; and electrical fires caused by overheating or arcing apparatus in contact with a fuel (see the next Section).
