Raritan Marine Sanitation Suppliers Discuss Vital Info About Avoiding Electric Shock Drowning
Raritan Engineering your marine sanitaiton professionals would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding the dangers of electric shock drowning.
Your marine sanitation specialists share information about the fatalities over the weekend of an 11-year-old girl in New Jersey and 19-year-old young man in Ohio are bringing scrutiny to an age-old summer ritual that’s common on waterfronts across America: swimming near boat docks. Initial reports say the youngster died when touching a dock’s electrified boatlift, and the Ohio teen died as a result of dangerous electrical current in the water while trying to save his father and family dog that also appeared to be stricken by the electrical current. The BoatUS Foundation, the boating-safety arm of the nations’ largest recreational boat owners group, has some tips to prevent an electrocution tragedy.
Your marine parts USA experts share how while swimming deaths due to electricity fall into two categories, electrocution and electric shock drowning (ESD), both can be prevented the same way.
ESD occurs when AC gets into freshwater from faulty wiring and passes through a swimmer, causing paralysis or even sudden death. Unlike electrocution, with ESD a swimmer does not need to be touching a boat or dock structure, and even minute amounts of electricity can be incapacitating and lead to drowning.
Raritan Marine Sanitation Distributors Further Discuss How to Keep You and Your Family Safe
Raritan Engineering, your marine sanitation supply experts, know that marine sanitation is critical on your vessel. The risk of ESD is greatest in fresh- or brackish water, so some areas such as estuaries or rivers may only be in the danger zone after heavy rains. In saltwater, electrical current takes the path of least resistance, bypassing swimmers. Your marine parts and supplies suppliers talk about how tingling in the swimmer’s body is one of the early warning signs of ESD.
What can you do to prevent an electrocution or ESD fatality?
Here are 6 tips:
1. Your marine sanitation manufacturers share how you never swim around boats and docks that use electricity.
2. Post “no swimming” signs.
3. Have a qualified electrician with experience in dock electrical service inspect your private dock annually.
4. Install ground-fault protection on your boat and private dock.
5. Ask your marina if they have installed ground-fault protection, and if the electrical system is inspected and
tested annually just in case someone falls overboard. No one should ever swim in a marina.
6. Periodically test your boat for electrical leakage into the water.
What do you do if you see a distressed person in the water near a boat dock? Your marine parts Houston professionals discuss how a drowning victim often looks “playful,” while an electric shock drowning victim looks “distressed.” It may be difficult, however, to immediately determine either, so play it safe by not jumping in.
For more information, parents, dock owners, boaters, and marina and boat club operators can go to the BoatUS Electric Shock Drowning Resource Center at www.BoatUS.com/Seaworthy/ESD.
So don’t forget to buy sanitation equipment here at Raritan Engineering, where we always take care of your marine sanitation supply needs.