Freelance reporter Terry Gardner wrote a piece that describes Electric Shock Drowning, something I had not heard of before. Gardner’s piece is a cautionary tale that could provide important and timely content for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
The story says some power boats leak electricity into fresh water, which can be a big problem around marinas where there are lots of boats and swimmers in the water at the same time.
Gardner says boats need something called an Equipment Leakage Circuit Interrupter (ELCI) and that marinas should have a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) to prevent people in the water from being shocked.
The story says:
“The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is the U.S. organization responsible for keeping our homes and offices safe from both fire and electrical hazards. Ritz says, ‘The NFPA requires GFCIs in every location in the country near fresh water (from our bathrooms to our Jacuzzis) except on boats, in marinas and in rivers with fresh water irrigation pumps.’
“Electric Shock Drowning doesn’t occur in salt water because salt water is a better conductor of electricity than the human body. Fresh water, however, doesn’t conduct electricity, but mammals do. If people or their pets swim in fresh water that is electrified by a boat or other machinery leaking voltage, they can be electrocuted.”
And the piece gives recent examples, including these two:
- “On May 29, 2010, Michael Cunningham became an ESD victim when he reached for a ladder on the houseboat that he had been swimming behind. He was instantly electrocuted. It was later determined that the houseboat had been leaking electric current into the fresh water at Stonewall Jackson Lake in Weston, West Virginia. Michael was 15-years-old.
- “On July 10, Beth Waite experienced electrical shock while swimming behind a houseboat in Green River Lake in Kentucky. When her boyfriend, John Childress tried to rescue her from the jet ski boat ramp at the back of the houseboat, he felt a strong shock and asked Bobby Gullett, the houseboat’s owner to call 9-1-1 and turn off all electricity on the boat. After turning off the power, Gullett jumped into the water to rescue Beth and became incapacitated by electric voltage still flowing through the water. Both Gullett and Waite received emergency medical care. Electricians determined the houseboat was leaking electricity into the fresh water lake.
There are support groups and social network pages dedicated to this issue:
- A Facebook page, established to promote awareness, is active with wall posts and discussions.
- A website chronicles ESD cases nationwide. It is not completely up to date, but provides good history.
- IAEI Magazine, which calls itself “the definitive magazine for electrical inspectors,” outlines the issue and says it has documented more than 100 cases of ESD.
- A publication for electrical construction and maintenance professionals, EC&M Magazine, also has detailed the problem.
