A new law regarding arc flash, established by the NESC states, “Effective as of January 1, 2009, the employer shall ensure that an assessment is performed to determine potential exposure to an electric arc for employees who work on or near energized parts or equipment.  If the assessment determines a potential employee exposure greater than 2 cal/cm2 exists, the employer shall require employees to wear clothing or a clothing system that has an effective arc rating not less than the anticipated level of arc energy.”

This law will require workers to wear arc flash suits when exposed to an exposure greater than 2 cal/cm2.  Arc flash is the result of a rapid release of energy due to an arcing short circuit between two or more adjacent conductors.  The cause of the short normally burns away during the initial flash, and the arc fault is then sustained by the establishment of a highly conductive plasma.  Arc flash produces temperatures above 35,000 degrees and statistics say 2000 people are admitted to the hospital every year because of arc flash injury.  The risk of arc flash has contributed to new laws such as the one stated previously beginning in 2009.  It is imperative to protect yourself from the dangers of arc flash by wearing the proper personal protective equipment when working anywhere a potential exists for arc flash.

Tags: arc, arc flash, nesc, personal protective equipment, PPE

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 at 6:06 pm and is filed under PPE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.