Hazards of an electric arc flash, that is a plasma explosion with a huge quantity of electric energy. It appears when two components have an important potential difference between both, and the environment (that could be air) becomes conductor, becoming a bridge, generating a violent arc in explosion form. Some of the mains risks that these explosions involve are: extremely high temperatures, molten metal projections, a dangerous impact resulting from the explosion of air, loud sound waves, and riscks of electric discharge.
The hazards of electric arc flash can be extremely destructive for electric sector workers. Huge temperatures and excessive heat that operator, who is surprised by an electric arc flash, could receive, can cause severe burns injuries and even death, if is not used the right protection. It’s very important to say that this violent accident causes 3 deaths per day in a worldwide, and 40% of accidents of electricity sector are caused by electric arc flash.
The electric sector is one of the industrial sectors where technical protective fabrics play an important role when an laboral accident occurs. These fabrics, should meet certain functionalities such as fire and heat transfer protection, flame resistant, molten metal impacts, and static electricity resistance. All of them should provide high protection values for operators and at the same time provide the comfort desired by them. All these fabrics must be tested and certified by official labs, according to international EN ISO and ASTM standards for protective fabrics.
