Ground-fault conditions pose very real safety hazards to personnel.
If a ground fault is present, conductive material that
does not normally carry current—such as module frames,
racking or mounting structures, metallic enclosures and
bare copper grounding conductors—may be energized and
present a shock hazard. Any equipment that is grounded
now has the potential to carry current. Equipment assumed
to be grounded may actually be sitting 500 V above ground.
Since the human body is a conductor, personnel working in
the presence of a ground fault may inadvertently provide a
path to ground for the fault current, with potentially catastrophic
results.