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Posted By Chris Bingley
I have recently been contacted by staff in one of my offices regarding static discharges. The staff are experiencing severe shocks causing considerable pain, and in one instance, allegedly a burn.
HSE website is not forthcoming on this subject. Can anyone help - I am particularly interested in cause and cure - this is an office environment?
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Posted By Frank Cooper
Chris,
One of the main causes of static within the office environment is man made fibre carpets ie Nylon etc and again, man made fibre soles on shoes. Temperature within a room is an added problem, as the air can become very dry - the right combination to generate static electricity.
The pain of course comes from the discharge ie when an individual touches something metallic that is earthed. As to solutions, well, in the past I have known Facilities Managers to arrange to have carpets sprayed with an anti static spray (usually out of hours if possible) and this seems to do the trick. Presumably a well known carpet supplier would advise. The use of plants within the environment can also help in addressing the humidity problem.
I am afraid that in a lot of cases the carpets will require an annual treatment.
Hope this helps,
Frank Cooper
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Posted By John Webster
I would be highly sceptical about a burn being caused by a typical office static discharge. The voltage may be high, but there is just not enough current flow to do any damage. If a burn DID occur, then get the equipment checked out pronto, there may be some other fault.
John
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Posted By Ken Taylor
It's to do with stripping electrons by abrading surfaces (usually flooring), building up an electrical charge within the body as there is no ready earth-path, and then discharging the current to a good conductor (eg metal cabinet). Frank has given you the usual remedies: changing the nature of the surfaces; removing or changing the good conductors; increasing relative humidity; or, sometimes in sensitive jobs, earthing the staff!
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Posted By Jane Blunt
Dear Chris
I, too, am sceptical about burns, but undoubtedly a hefty shock when static electricity is conducted to earth can be quite painful.
There is one simple measure that can help in some cases. If you discharge yourself via a relatively poor conductor, it is painless. If, for instance you get a shock from touching a light switch or a tap, then before touching it, place your hand flat against a wall, be it plastered, wallpapered or painted (ceramic tiles would probably not allow the charge to leak away). That action is usually sufficient to allow the charge to leak away painlessly, so that when you touch the earthed metal object there is no problem.
There is no substitute to experimentation here. Happy experimenting.
Jane
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Posted By Chris Pollington
I agree the previous comments and solutions, I also found that some staff were affected more than others due to the types of shoes worn, those with a higher carbon content in the soles do reduce the build up. In my car I never get a shock whilst wearing my safety shoes but always seem to when not.
I also found that there was a lack of understanding among office staff who reported the shocks as they felt there was a risk to health, I then took the time to explain that it was not unsafe (in those circumstances) and just a nuisance and all was well.
We do get the carpets treated whenever the problem gets bad.
Regards
Chris.
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Posted By Diane Warne
Chris,
I'm glad you're taking this seriously! I had this problem in a lab where I used to work which had a metal handwash sink operated by foot pedal. Sometimes when I put my foot on the pedal and my hands in the water, I got a really painful shock. I was the only person in the lab who used to get a shock and the others thought it was mightily funny, and would shriek with laughter every time it happened. In the end it became quite upsetting - it honestly wasn't funny as it really was very painful and distressing. I reported it of course, but the maintenance people didn't believe me! It will be of great help to your staff just to know that someone is trying to help.
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Posted By Laurie
I can once remember sitting at a dimly lit desk and watching as a small blue flash leapt from my finger down beside one of the keys on my keyboard!
That was quite painful as it trashed my motherboard!
Laurie
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