This study describes the occurrence of work-related injuries from thermal-, electrical- and
chemical-burns among electric utility workers. We describe injury trends by occupation,
body part injured, age, sex, and circumstances surrounding the injury. This analysis
includes all thermal, electric, and chemical injuries included in the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI) Occupational Health and Safety Database (OHSD). There were a total of 872
thermal burn and electric shock injuries representing 3.7% of all injuries, but accounting for
nearly 13% of all medical claim costs, second only to the medical costs associated with
sprain- and strain-related injuries (38% of all injuries). The majority of burns involved less
than 1 day off of work. The head, hands, and other upper extremities were the body parts
most frequently injured by burns or electric shocks. For this industry, electric-related burns
accounted for the largest percentage of burn injuries, 399 injuries (45.8%), followed by
thermal/heat burns, 345 injuries (39.6%), and chemical burns, 51 injuries (5.8%). These
injuries also represented a disproportionate number of fatalities; of the 24 deaths recorded
in the database, contact with electric current or with temperature extremes was the source
of seven of the fatalities. High-risk occupations included welders, line workers, electricians,
meter readers, mechanics, maintenance workers, and plant and equipment operators.