Page 10 - OHS, June 2020

FIRE SAFETY
Recognizing and Mitigating Static Electricity Hazards
Fire departments respond to nearly 280 industrial incidents involving static electricity each year.
BY KAREN HAMEL
10 Occupational Health & Safety | JUNE 2020
www.ohsonline.com
Ancient Greeks discovered that when ani- mal fur and amber were rubbed together, the fur could be used to attract feathers, glass dust and other lightweight objects. It wasn’t until 1600 AD, however, that William Gilbert, an English scientist, documented and associated this property with electricity.
Static electricity is sometimes little more than a nuisance that causes clothing to unattractively cling in all the wrong places. It can be much more detri- mental. In fact, fire departments respond to nearly 280 industrial incidents involving static electricity each year, according to the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA).
Imbalance of Energy
Objects are made of atoms containing protons, elec- trons and neutrons. Most of the time, the protons and electrons balance each other in an object, making it electrically neutral. But when different objects rub to- gether, that friction can cause the number of protons or electrons on the surface to become imbalanced, creating static electricity.
Static electricity remains on a surface until it is ei- ther safely discharged or until it can jump to another object. When it finds a path to jump to another sur- face, it does so as a spark.
Although it is most often associated with a person walking across a surface and touching another person
Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock.com