ASSIGNMENT OF POWER

SYSTEM ANALYSIS II

Aqeel Ahmad EE-46 2014-15

Ghulam Mustqeem EE-262014-15

Manthar Ali EE-35 2015-16

 HAZARDS OF ARC FLASH & WAYS TO ILLUMINATE IT WITH

NPFA 70E

Abstract :

Safety related regulation has been changed recent with awareness of hazards linked with
electrical Arcs. National Fire Protection Associations (NFPA) standard 70E provides the
procedures for work relating electrical hazards and range of PPEs of Arc flash. For safe
selection of working equipment one must know about the thermal energy of electric flash.

Introduction
An arc flash is one the most serious
electrical hazard that can occur in a
workplace. The enormous energy
released heat up to 35,000 degrees that is
very dangerous for the people working
out there.
Reasons for ARC Flash
Thermal effects and little study done to
measure the non thermal effects. They
began a project in 2008 to improve the
studies in ARC Flash analysis so to
reduce the hazards of ARC flash.
The IEEE 1584 guide then could be
better used to calculate workplace safety

An arc flash can occur when an electrical
current leaves its path and travels
through air to another conductor or to
the ground. Equipment failure, bad
installation etc or even dust particles
with moisture contents and condensation
near an energized electrical conductor
can cause an arc flash.
IEEE and NFPA began the project to
understand the hazards of Arc flash 10
years before. In the results these both
agreed that there were weaknesses in
previous measurements of arc flash
standards, such as the 2015 NFPA 70E
Standard for Electrical Safety in the
Workplace and new OSHA arc flash
regulations, which began
January.Actually the hazards of ARC
Flash mainly depends on three factor
1: Workers' proximity to the arc flash.
2: The energy of the arc fault.
3: The length of time the flash occurs
before some protection device interrupts
the current.

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Arc flash can cause the following
injuries:
Skin burns by direct heat
exposure. Arc flash generates
large amounts of heat as
discussed that can severely burn
human skin and set clothing on
fire. Temperatures at the arc can
reach four times the temperature
of suns surface.
High-intensity flash can also
cause damage to eyesight.
If we analyze in percentage wise then
there is reduction of 100% in injuries
from 1992 to 2013.
Injuries happened in different industries
of the world should be of our concern.
Information is also available to know
that how much incidents occur in the
leading industries and occupations.
The total number of fatalities occur can
be broken down as

If we analysis the injuries in the

different industries of the world then
we have so many examples.
Following graphs showing some
experiences regarding arc flash
hazards,

Figure explains the fatal injuries

in United States from 1992-2013

It is prcised that most number of

fatalities occur in the Construction side
with a total number if 923 fatalities.

On the second hand most fatalities occur

in the professional and business services
with total number of 258.\

Some year-to-year fluctuation shown in

figure no:3

In this figure it is defined that so many

injuries occur in late 90s era reason is
simple that we had no such facilities that
we had in 2013.

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 New Changes of NPFA for 2015
First we look to the NPFA 70E, 2012
version

Building on the safety7,training, and

maintenance requirements outlined in
the 2012 edition of NPFA 70E,the 2015
version of the standard introduces
additional changes that facilitate an even
greater understanding, awareness, and
mitigation of electrical hazards.

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While some of the 2015 are
informational in nature, others require
facility manager to once again take
action to revise update safety policies to
better protect workers.
Specifically, facility managers need to
be aware of the following updates to
NPFA 70E 2015:
Terminology has changed in 2015
version that must be followed
Risk vs. Hazard
Hazard identification basically means to
the potential for harm from exposed
energized electrical conductors and/or
the condition of the equipment.
While the term Risk primarily refers to
the chance or probability that the
identified hazard could result in physical
harm to the worker, or the unqualified or
unprotected persons nearby.
The terms risk and risk assessment
have also been clearly defined:
Risk - A combination of the likelihood
of occurrence of injury or damage to
health and the severity of injury or
damage to health that results from a
hazard.
Risk Assessment - An overall process
that identifies hazards, estimates damage
to health, and determines if protective
measures are required.
Defining Qualified Workers
Both OSHA and NPFA recognize the
importance of determining a workers
qualifications to work on or around
electrical equipment.
To help employer to make this important
designation, NPFA 70E states that a
qualifies person should be trained and
knowledgeable in the construction and
operation of equipment or specific work
methods, and be trained to recognize and
avoid the electrical hazards that might be
present with respect to that equipment or
work method. It is important to note that
a person can be considered qualified
with respect to certain equipment and
methods, but still be unqualified in other
situations.
In 2015 version it is required that
The 2015 version of the standard adds
the requirement that such a person shall
demonstrate the ability to use and not
just be familiar with the proper use of
the following:
Special precautionary techniques
PPE including arc flash suits
Insulating and shielding
materials
Insulated tools and test
equipment
NFPA 70E 2015 also adds that qualified
electrical workers permitted to work
within the limited approach boundary of
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exposed energized electrical conductors
and circuit parts operating at 50 volts or
more must have additional training in
minimum approach distances to exposed
parts.
It must be concluded that workers that
are related to medical responsibilities
must respond in a quick session.
Table for Shock Hazards Boundary
Definition of NPFA 70E
One important thing to protect from
ARC Flash is its labeling
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Arc Flash Labeling
Arc flash labeling became an NFPA
70E requirement in 2002, and these were
updated in 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2015.
Electrical instruments should labeled
properly according to the standards.
In 2012 and 2015, NFPA clarified this
confusion
Specifically, NFPA 70E 2015 spells out
the types of equipment that need to be
labeled, including switchboards,
switchgear, panel boards, industrial
control panels, meter socket enclosures,
and motor control panels.
10 best practices with NPFA 70E
Remember that: ?
NPFA is not only looking for the
reducing the ARC Flash hazards but
OSHA is also working side by side.
OSHA updated standard CFR 1910.269
in the Federal Register on April 11,
2014, representing the first time OSHA
is mandating and enforcing specific arc
flash-related requirements for higher
voltage facilities.
References
Arc Flash Analysis: IEEE Method versus the
NFPA 70E Tables January 2012 /
1910DB1201 Reza Tajali, Schneider Electric
Engineering Services.
OSHA Regulations 29 CFR 1910.300-399,
Subpart S, Electrical Washington, DC:
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, US Department of Labor
NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in
the Workplace, Quincy, MA: National Fire
Protection Association, 2004.
IEEE 1584, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-
Flash Hazard Calculations, IEEE Industry
Applications Society, The Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
New York, NY. September 2002