The Basics of Electric Shock

Jun 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By Mike Holt, Mike Holt Enterprises, Inc.

Proper impedance paths are critical to shock prevention.

The National Safety Council estimates that nearly 300 people die in the United States each year from electric shocks on 120V
or 277V circuits. Death occurs when voltage pushes electrons through the human body, particularly the heart. An electric
shock from as little as 50VAC for as little as 1 sec can disrupt the heart's rhythm, causing death in a matter of minutes.

The severity of electric shock depends on the current

flowing through the body, which is a function of the
electromotive force (E) in volts, and the contact
resistance (R) in ohms. Plug these values into the
formula I=E÷R to find out how much current will flow
through the body.

Electric shock can come in several forms, and the

following descriptions apply to the various levels.

Electric sensation
Tingle sensation occurs at about 0.25mA to 0.5mA
for an adult female and between 0.5mA and 1mA for an
adult male.

Uncomfortable sensation
Current greater than 1mA to 2mA is very
uncomfortable to either gender.

Maximum let-go level

The maximum let-go threshold level for a female is about 9mA and about 15mA for a male.

Fibrillation level
This is a function of current over time. For example, you will get fibrillation with 500mA over 0.2 sec or 75mA over 0.5 sec.

Let-go threshold
This is the current level at which humans lose muscle control; the electricity causes muscles to contract until current is
removed.

According to IEEE Std. 80, you can determine the maximum safe shock duration by the formula, T=0.116÷(E÷R), where T is
duration in seconds, E is the electromotive force in volts, and R is resistance of the person, which is a constant 1,000 ohms
(seeFigure).

For a 120V circuit, maximum shock duration=0.116÷(120V÷1,000)=1 sec

For a 277V circuit, maximum shock duration=0.116÷(277V÷1000)=0.43 sec

An overcurrent protection device (OCPD) protects against electric shock caused by a ground fault on metal parts of electric
equipment. The time it takes for an OCPD to open, clear a ground fault, and remove dangerous voltage is inversely
proportional to the magnitude of the fault current.

If the installation is in accordance with the NEC, an inverse time circuit breaker or fuse should quickly clear a ground fault,
thereby removing dangerous touch voltage. However, the circuit must have a low-impedance ground-fault path that permits
fault current of at least six times the rating of the OCPD. For a 20A circuit, the ground-fault current must be at least 120A to
clear the fault quickly.
The impedance of the fault current path plays a critical role in removing dangerous voltages from metal parts and preventing
electric shock by facilitating the opening of the branch-circuit overcurrent protection device. Be sure you don't take this path for
granted. Terminate equipment-grounding conductors properly and make sure all mechanical connections are secure. One final
tip: Only a GFCI can protect you from direct contact with an energized conductor.

Electric Shock
The primary variable for determining the severity of electric shock is the electric
current which passes through the body. This current is of course dependent upon
the voltage and the resistance of the path it follows through the body. An approximate
general framework for shock effects is as follows:

Electric Current
Physiological Effect
(1 second contact)
1 mA Threshold of feeling, tingling sensation.
"Can't let go!" current - onset of sustained
10-20 mA
muscular contraction.
100-300 mA
Ventricular fibrillation, fatal if continued.

One instructive example of the nature of voltage is the fact that a bird can sit on a high-
voltage wire without harm, since both of its feet are at the same voltage. You can also see
that the bird is not "grounded" -- you will not be shocked by touching a high voltage if there
is no path for the current to reach the Earth or a different voltage point. Typically if you
touch a 120 volt circuit with one hand, you can escape serious shock if you have insulating
shoes which prevent a low-resistance path to ground. This fact has led to the common "hand-
in-the-pocket" practice for engineers and electrical workers. If you keep one hand in your
pocket when touching a circuit which might provide a shock, you are less likely to have the
kind of path to ground which will result in a serious shock.

Current Involved in Electric Shock

The electric current in amperes is the most important physiological varible which determines
the severity of an electric shock. However, this current is in turn determined by the driving
voltage and the resistance of the path which the current follows through the body. One
difficulty in establishing the conditions for electrical safety is that a voltage which produces
only a mild tingling sensation under one circumstance can be a lethal shock hazard under
other conditions.

Will the 120 volt common household voltage produce a dangerous shock? It depends!
If your body resistance is 100,000 ohms, then the current which would flow would be:

But if you have just played a couple of sets of tennis, are sweaty and barefoot, then your
resistance to ground might be as low as 1000 ohms. Then the current would be:

The severity of shock from a given source will depend upon its path through your body.

Shock Physiological Effects

Electric
Voltage required to produce the
Current
Physiological Effect current with assumed body resistance:
(1 second
100,000....1,000
ohms ohms
contact)
1 mA Threshold of feeling, tingling sensation. 100 V 1V
5 mA Accepted as maximum harmless current 500 V 5V
Beginning of sustained muscular contraction ("Can't let go"
10-20 mA 1000 V 10 V
current.)
Ventricular fibrillation, fatal if continued. Respiratory function
100-300 mA 10000 V 100 V
continues.
Sustained ventricular contraction followed by normal heart rythmn.
6A 600000 V 6000 V
(defibrillation). Temporary respiratory paralysis and possibly burns.

BASICS OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

The following factors determine the severity of theeffect electric shock has on your body:
•The amount of body resistance you have to thecurrent flow.

•The path the current takes through your body.

•The length of time the current flows throughyour body.

Body Resistance
Resistance varies greatly in different parts of yourbody. A value of 1,500 ohms is commonly
used as theresistance between major extremities of an average human body: hand to hand,
or hand to foot.
For example, suppose you accidentally grabbed a wire carrying 120 volts alternating current
(V ac).
We can use Ohm’s law, I = E/R, to figure how much current would flow through your body:
E = 120 V ac (the voltage you grabbed) R = 1,500 ohms (your average body resistance)
Therefore:I = 120/1,500 amp I = .080 amp I = 80 milliamperes
Therefore, if you grabbed a 120-Vac wire, 80 milli amperes of current would flow through
your body!
Remember, the 1500 ohms is just an average
value.Body resistance varies from person to person
and may often be less than 1500 ohms. When your
skin is moist, your body resistance could be as low as 300 ohms! Also, breaks in your
skin at the point ofcontact could reduce your skin resistance to nearlyzero!Skin resista
nce is only important when you arehandling voltages of less than 240 volts. If you
getshocked by more than 240 volts, the voltage arc willburn through your skin and leave
deep, third-degreeburns where it enters your body.
Current Flow Path
The two most dangerous paths that current can takethrough your body are (1) from hand to h
and and (2)
from left hand to either foot. The second path is theMOST dangerous since the current
will flow throughboth your heart and other vital organs.
Current Flow Duration
Fibrillation is the shocking of your heart into auseless flutter. The longer you are shock
ed, the morechance there is for your heart to begin fibrillating. Mostpeople who die from
electric shock die fromfibrillation. Fibrillation in a normal adult is unlikely ifthe current
in milliamperes is less than 116/t, where “t”is the shock duration in seconds. The longer you
are shocked, the less current is needed to cause heart fibrillation