Keep your family safe around lakes and swimming pools this summer! |
 |
|
Every day, about 10 people in the U.S. die from accidental drowning, according to the CDC. But Electric Shock Drowning incidents are difficult to track. It's known as a "silent killer". The Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association (ESDPA) was created to educate the public regarding ESD and its prevention.
Rule #1: NO SWIMMING near any dock or boat using AC power.
Rule #2: Follow codes and standards including ground fault protection where specified (these could be GFCIs or 30ma ground fault protection breakers). See Article 555.3 in the NEC.
Electric shock drowning (ESD) occurs when the human body acts as a conductor for AC electrical current in the water. It is particularly dangerous around water where electricity is being used (including docks and marinas, swimming pools, spas, fountains, and irrigation pumps among others).
|
Lost to ESD - April 2017
The Saturday before Easter, two colleagues, Shelly Darling, 34, and Elizabeth Whipple, 41, visited Lake Tuscaloosa to soak up the sun on a family dock. A few hours later, family members discovered the women's possessions, but saw no sign of the Alabama sunbathers. They called the police and after a search, their bodies were found in the lake. When recovering them, a rescuer felt a jolt of electricity.
According to AL.com, the autopsies revealed the two women died of electric shock drowning. Read more...
|
Lost to ESD - April 2016
In April, 2016, 15-year old Carmen Johnson tragically died from electric shock drowning while swimming near her family's Alabama lake house. She dove from the top of the two story dock into the lake. Her father realized the ladder wasn't in the water so he lowered it. He had no idea that the metal ladder carried an electric charge from a faulty light switch. Carmen started sinking under the water. He jumped in to save her till he realized there was another problem. Read more...
|
Lost to ESD - May 2017
According to police in Florence, Alabama, 65 year-old Carl McGrady died from his injuries as a result of an accident at a residential pool. Investigators say Carl entered his electrified pool to begin cleaning it on Friday. His son Lucas jumped into the pool to attempt to save his father. Officers say they didn't realize the pool was electrified. Lucas was seriously injured during his rescue attempt. Pam, their mother/wife, was also hurt while helping Lucas remove Carl from the pool. She was treated and released. Read more...
|
"If I would have known this could happen, or heard about it before - I am not sure if this would have happened to my daughter" he told TODAY. "We just really want to stress how dangerous electricity around the water is. People don't realize how strong and how dangerous it is even in a big body of water. You would think it would just dissipate but that isn't the case." Jimmy Johnson, Carmen's father.
|
Lost to ESD
|
Electric Shock Drownings
March 27, 2016. Electric shock in pool kills man, injures 5 kids. A father is dead and his daughter is hospitalized in critical condition after sufferent an electric shock in a Palm Springs swimming pool on Easter Sunday
June 17, 2016. A 53-year old mom, Donna Perger, dies while rescuing her son at Lake Chickamauga, TN. Randy Freeney, 74 years old, dies while helping mom who was rescuing her son.
July 21, 2016. Dakota Watkins, 24 years old, dies while working on boathouse electrical wiring at Harveys Lake, PA.
September 3, 2016. Rachel Rosoff, a 17 year old lifeguard drowns in North Carolina swimming pool. Fault in pump motor and broken ground connection resulted in death. Person attempting rescue reported feeling tingling sensations when trying to enter the water.
Updated 2017 Electric Shock Drowning List. |
| |
|
ESD is not the same as death by electrocution, which usually results from direct contact with energized metal objects or surfaces. ESD is a unique form of drowning caused by the presence of AC electrical currents in feshwater lakes, rivers, pools, ponds. The current can flow through the body of a living being immersed in the electrically charged water. The current, where sufficiently intense, can paralyze the body's skeletal muscles, inhibiting the ability to swim or move one's limbs (i.e. electrically induced cramp). The outcome in many cases is the drowning death of an otherwise healthy individual.
|
|
|
|
In the opinion of the ESDPA, the risk of swimming around docks and boats using AC electricity is unacceptable. They recommend staying at least 150 feet away from any structure or equipment powered by AC in the water, or located on the waterfront.
Note that pools and spas are designed for swimming/bathing. They all require GFCI protection and proper grounding systems. They are normally not subject to the harsh marine environment associated with docks and marinas. But there are still accidents occurring in swimming pools, inevitably because systems are not up to the current codes and standards and GFCIs are not tested periodically as required by the manufacturer. The environment around docks and marinas is a different animal requiring special concerns and cautions.
Never use codes and standards (nor any other sensing device) as a "Green Light" for swimming. Codes and standards will protect most people who accidentally end up in the water but they cannot be expected to protect swimmers near AC sources. And some devices are currently being marketed to alert a dock owner of voltage present in the water. These are fine to alert the owner of a dangerous situation requiring immediate attention for safety. But these are reactive, not predictive devices. Anyone in the water when the light turns from green to red could be injured or worse.
Ed Lethert and David Rifkin contributed to this article. Contact them for questions or additional information.
David Rifkin: qualitymarinesvcs@comcast.net
Ed Lelthert: elethert@gmail.com
Additional Resources:
Visit the website: Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association
New book release: Electric Shock Drowning: Causes and Prevention by G.S. Cargill III
|
|
888.NEC.CODE (632.2633) ▪ www.MikeHolt.com
