Dangerous Adapters Still in Service

by Eugene Palmer

Why is it that rigging companies are often the most flagrant violators of electrical safety?  They seem appropriately concerned with safe loads, fall arrest and training, but then send out the most terrifically illegal and genuinely dangerous electrical equipment.

I am speaking of the Cam-Lock to L16-50 or their even more dangerous little brother the L21-30, adapters that continue to show up from rigging suppliers.  These adapters typically have stripped back 10/5 or 8/4 SO with the individual single jacketed conductors then inserted into male Cam-Lock connectors.

There are numerous dangers with this adapter-

They are physically under-protected because the individual conductor jackets are only the internal single jacket not meant for rough service and easily nicked or cut into.

They are physically under-protected because no Cam-Lock is designed for conductors that thin, and fillers used to increase fit are not designed for the physical or electrical load.  The allen set screws are usually screwed in past the threads and stripped.

They are electrically under-protected because they are inevitably connected to anywhere from 100 to 400 amp services whose circuit breakers are more than 25 feet away.

They violate both the spirit and several sections of NFPA code.

So, when a single 10 gauge conductor with its thin jacket gets brushed against a road case burr, or crushed under a pipe and drape base with its sharp edge, the resulting potential’s only safety stop is a 400 amp breaker up in the catwalk, or down the vom and around the corner 150’ in a locked vault only hotel engineers have access to (as is the case today), or worse.  The resulting shock to anyone electrically near, or the resulting flash from touching a grounded piece of hardware, is extremely dangerous and difficult to control or stop.  That breaker is probably not going to trip, and that cable is probably going to erupt in flames, and any person involved is probably going to have serious or fatal burns, and the only way to stop it would be for a an available person to go switch the power off.

While it is possible that riggers themselves are unaware of this danger, rigging shops certainly know, and further, rigging trainers certainly know.   So why does this equipment persist?  I imagine it is the age-old simple answer that it is easier and cheaper so therefore the safety considerations are ignored.  Simple and reasonably priced alternatives are readily available in the form of small ‘lunch-box” power distribution units that have Cam-Lock inputs and properly sized circuit breaking outlets.  Since most rigging companies have specific connector configurations.  I won’t try to specify one, except to say that Lex Products and Motion Laboratories both offer custom configurations for their small form-factor distribution boxes.  Probably about $1000, maybe more, but please put them in your rental inventory and get rid of those adapters.

I am not a confrontational person by nature, but if there were any extreme by which I would refuse to connect and service a production as an ETCP certified electrician, it is this one.  By supplying this sub-standard equipment rigging suppliers put me and other responsible electricians in the very hot seat of possible load-in stoppage when we demand compliance to clearly mandated standards.   Compare this to an ETCP certified rigger refusing to load a show in because all the motors are years out of inspection with rusty chains.  It is not that different, it is equipment seriously and dangerously out of compliance that jeopardizes the health and safety of workers and public, though in this case probably more the workers.  I am refusing to connect these adapters and have so far not had to stop a load-in because I know where house L21-30 outlets or other alternatives are, but there will come a time.

Rather than put this sort of industry criticism up on social media, I thought I would start with a more personal and direct approach to a few people I could locate on the web since my point is not to cause trouble, it is to get results.  These adapters must be taken out of service.  Please forward to the appropriate supervisory persons in your companys rental department and industry members as you see fit.

However, this is not the first time I have made an appeal to industry, and I am still seeing these adapters.  The next step is social media or commercial publications, where I am sure you will be scorched far worse than anything I could come up with.  Please, as ESTA, USITT and ETCP associated people with dedicated concerns for industry safety, make this stop.  If you already have and I am bothering you with known solutions, I apologize, but I bet you all still have them.

Sincerely,

Eugene Palmer
IATSE Local 107
Theater, Dance & Performance Studies, UC Berkeley

Why Wear Shock Protection? This is Why

Rarely will you find me on a gig without gloves on my hands. I have a pair of Gig Gloves that I love to wear when I'm unloading trucks, a pair of buffalo skin gloves that I wear when I'm working around energized electrical cables, and a pair of voltage-rated rubber gloves that I wear when there is a possibility of electric shock (inside the restricted approach boundary for you who speak NFPA 70E). I'm always careful to meter power as far downstream in the power distribution system as I can because, the closer you are to the source of power, the greater the hazard. I cringe when I see people metering power at the camlock connectors on a portable power generator.

Recently, I was doing some research and I came across an OSHA accident report that said an employee touched live energized parts within a power generator.

"At 1:44 p.m. on August 30, 2018, an employee opened the 480 volt 3 phase diesel powered generator's output terminal panel and lifted the output terminal cover. The employee's hand touched energized parts and received a shock through his left hand between the thumb and the index finger, and was electrocuted."

This is why we wear shock protection. Had he been wearing rubber gloves, he would be happily working or relaxing at home with his family today. Even if he was wearing leather gloves, he would have fared much better. Instead, he's another statistic.

It's too late for this employee, but for the rest of us, we should learn from this. We can do better. Wear gloves!

Take Time to Save a Life

As of March 1, 2019, it's been 590 days since the last known fatal stage electrocution.

Barbara Weldens was a singer who liked to perform barefooted. On July 19, 2017, she was performing at the Léo Ferré festival in Gourdon, France when, according to Wikipedia, she stepped on "a faulty electrical device." It cost her life.

Could this have been prevented? What can we learn from the tragedy? How can we prevent similar tragedies in the future?

If the report is accurate, it would seem that the fault in the equipment was broken insulation on a power cable, leading to a live exposed conductor, which is a shock hazard. If she tread barefooted on a power cable with broken insulation, then she would have completed a circuit through her body to the chassis of the handheld microphone, which is connected to the shield of the microphone cable, and that is connected to electrical ground.

This illustrates the importance of visually inspecting all of your power cords and cables when you are setting them up. Had someone spotted the defective cable and removed it from service or repaired it on the spot, then Barbara Weldens would likely be alive today.

That's why I like to carry a roll of self-vulcanizing silicon rubber tape. When the backing on this tape is removed and it is wrapped, it forms a chemical seal and provides a layer of electrical insulation. Depending on the brand of tape, it can offer dielectric strength of thousands of volts per wrap. If I find any defective insulation, I will take the time to wrap it with self-vulcanizing silicon rubber tape. And because it's not very durable, I will cover it with electrical tape. The combination provides electrical insulation with a more durable outer covering. It's not a permanent solution but a temporary one that could save someone's life.

Defects in cable are common in live event production because of the way we handle them. We toss them around, step on them, run over them with hand trucks and fork lifts, and generally beat them up. They can end up with cuts, punctures, slices, abrasions, cracks, and other defects. Insulation is made of polymer, which is a form of plastic. As soon it's made, the insulation starts to break down naturally because of oxidation, moisture (leading to hydrolytic breakdown), heat (leading to thermal degradation), mechanical stress (leading to loss in tensile properties),  the effects of light (especially UV), chemical breakdown (due to atmospheric pollutants like oil residue on the surface of streets), biological breakdown (fungi, mold, etc.), ultrasonic breakdown, and more.

Self-vulcanizing silicon rubber tape is offered by a number of manufacturers under a variety of trade names including Rescue Tape, F4 Tape, Tape 70, and FixIt Tape. The price ranges from about $3.50 per roll (in packs of six) to about $18 per roll. You can find it at your local home improvement store or online.

Take the time to make sure your power distribution equipment is free from defects and you could save a life.