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Keeping Cool Amid the Hype

Lab Safety Advisor, November 14, 2005

Keeping Cool Amid the Hype

Electrical safety is often overlooked in the laboratory setting--figuratively as well as literally: How often have you or someone in your lab forgotten or neglected to check wires hidden behind equipment? On the heels of Fire Safety Month, we remind laboratorians of the importance of training in basic electrical safety, of making sure that circuits are not overloaded, that wiring is not old or frayed, or that extension cords are not used. OSHA requires that all grounded circuitry meet the regulations of the National Electrical Code pulished by the NFPA (NFPA 70E).

And don't forget your GFCI. What's that? A ground-fault circuit interrupter. As defined by OSHA, it is "a device that detects an insulation failure by comparing the amount of current flowing to electrical equipment with the amount of current returning from the equipment. Whenever the difference is greater than 5 milliamps, the GFCI trips and thereby interrupts the flow of electricity." Click here to read more about this in OSHA's Hospital eTools Glossary. GFCIs must be installed when receptacles are within six feet of a sink. (Speaking of water, never allow any electrical-powered office equipment to become wet while it is turned on, and never turn on any electronic equipment when it is wet.)

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