The dangers of arc flash events in health care are amplified by the possibility for downtime resulting from arc flashes. Downtime in the health care environment is simply not acceptable.
In an industry where regulatory compliance is critical and in which the ultimate goal is the delivery of optimal patient care, electricity plays a critical role in providing always-on operation to help facilitate this care. In this environment, which already operates in a life-or-death mindset, arc flash prevention is imperative, and worker and personnel safety are of paramount importance.
The need to ensure arc flash safety has a significant impact on health care facilities, whether it's hospitals or any other environment where patient care is prioritized. Yet many health care providers struggle with how to best address this issue. In an era of constantly evolving codes and standards, doing so has never been more urgent.
In this article, I'll offer best practices for health care providers to make their facilities safer by protecting against arc flash hazards. Additionally, I’ll discuss new technologies that have emerged to help prevent against arc flash hazards and should be considered for any health care provider looking to enhance its arc flash prevention efforts.
Refresher: Why Arc Flash Safety Matters for Health Care Before diving into some available solutions for preventing arc flash safety in health care, it's important to review just how and why arc flashes can occur in these or any environments.
An arc flash is the explosive energy released when an electrical fault—a short circuit, for instance—causes an arc. This is measured in terms of arc flash incident energy and typically happens when an electric current passes through air as the result of a conductor failure, equipment failure, or the accidental connection between voltage sources such as dropping a tool across buses in distribution equipment.
The explosive energy resulting from an arc flash can be deadly or cause severe injury. The incident energy generated from an arc flash can release temperatures in excess of 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is four times hotter than the sun. Any metals vaporized by the explosion (e.g., copper, aluminum) would also be fatal if inhaled.
This article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
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