 Electrical safety is our key concern and I'm always looking out for information that will help keep the industry safe. Every year Electric Shock Drowning claims several new victims. As the summer approaches and people start taking to their boats and boat docks, it's important to remind you of the hidden dangers. It's our responsibility, especially as electricians, to do our part in educating the public to help keep families safe around lakes and marinas.
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Electrical safety is our key concern and I'm always looking out for information that will help keep the industry safe. Every year Electric Shock Drowning claims several new victims. As the summer approaches and people start taking to their boats and boat docks, it's important to remind you of the hidden dangers. It's our responsibility, especially as electricians, to do our part in educating the public to help keep families safe around lakes and marinas.
Captain David Rifkin (USN, Ret.) plays an active role in spreading the awareness of Electric Shock Drowning, and is the contributor of this annual report. Click here for his updated list of ESD incidents which added several deaths and a number of "near misses" to the list. Here is his message:
 Below is a comment on ground fault protection use in marinas, based on real cases studied.
We are finding more frequently that marina operators are opting to accept the grandfathering allowances of the NEC. This is resulting in current electrical systems not meeting the highest levels risk reduction from electric shock in the marina environment. In fact, a number of marina operators installed ground fault protection (GFP) on their docks only to be overwhelmed by customer complaints that their supply breakers were tripping. In a number of cases, the marina simply removed the ground fault equipment to placate their customers.
But the GFPs were tripping for a reason. There were electrical faults that represented a danger to people using the marina facilities. These dangers include touch voltages which can be lethal, or electrical currents in the water that can kill if a person ends up in the water near an electrical fault.
And in other cases, the specification for a renovation or a new installation required compliance with the most recently adopted version of the NEC, and this version required installation of ground fault equipment in the marina. But the installation ended up without GFP for one reason or another. Was there a permitting requirement that was “overlooked”? Did the inspector not check this when doing the permitting inspection? We have examples of both of these, revealed after a serious accident occurred some time later.
Bottom line: Ground Fault Protection saves lives. Just think about how many people we would have lost had GFCIs never been invented or installed to the great extent required by the current NEC. And we have lost many lives in the absence of available ground fault protection for marinas and private docks. In our opinion there is no excuse for not keeping up with industry standards of risk reduction in any area of business, even if not required by law. David Rifkin
For additional information:
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