Storm Safety
In Australia lightning causes between 6 and 10 deaths and over 100 severe injuries a year.
Lightning can be an occupational hazard, particularly for outdoor workers.
In 2017 a group of eleven men, working outdoors on a rail line in WA's Northern Goldfields, were all struck by lightning. Miraculously all walked away to tell the tale.
Lightning can cause injuries or death in several ways, including:
Direct strike – when a person is directly struck by lightning;
Contact voltage – when a person is in direct contact with conductor that has been struck by lightning, either inside or outside a structure;
Side flash – when a person is struck by an arc or flash from a conductor carrying a lightning strike near the person; and
Ground current – injuries can occur when standing in the area of a lightning strike as the current can flow through the ground and enter and exit the body through the feet.
Businesses should proactively identify lightning hazards that may be relevant to operations and have procedures in place to manage these risks.
Precautions for outdoor workers during a lightning storm:
Seek shelter in a substantial building or a metal bodied car when the lightning - thunder gap is less than 30 seconds.
Never shelter under trees.
If boating or engaged in aquatic activities, head for shore straight away. If this is not practicable when on a boat deck, keep a low profile and avoid contact with masts, rails, stay wires or metallic objects and avoid contact with water.
Avoid touching and proximity to metal objects that may become part of the discharge path, for example towers, mobile plant, fences and pipes.
Avoid using electrical equipment, hand tools and landline telephones.
Avoid handling fishing rods, umbrellas, golf clubs or any metal objects and stay clear of sheet metal, wire fences, clotheslines, streams, pools of water etc.
If caught in the open, crouch down with your feet together as low as possible with minimal contact with the ground. Do not lie down. If in a group, stay approximately three meters from other persons.
Lightning strike on a vehicle:
A lightning strike on a vehicle may cause heating of the tyre rubber (inner liner) which then releases gaseous, volatile organic compounds into the tyre’s air chamber. Under certain temperature, this volatile combination of air and fuel can become an explosive mixture and ignite. However vehicle occupants are usually safe.
Interesting New laser technology:
Traditionally lighting rods have been used to direct lightning away from populated areas. But for the first time in the field, scientists in Switzerland have used laser technology to successfully steer away lightning bolts.
Demonstrating this new technology during heavy storms atop a Swiss mountain, scientists fired pulses of a powerful laser at thunderclouds diverting lightning bolts by creating an easier path for the electrical discharge to flow along.
It is hoped that laser-based protection systems can be used at airports, tall buildings & critical ground installations in the future.
For further information on lightning safety visit:
WorkSafe website or Bureau of meteorology
