Electrical Electrocutions Possible in Australia

MARISSA CALLIGEROS
February 8, 2010 - 1:53PM
Ads by Google
Roofing Estimates

Find Top-Rated Roofing Pros inYour Area. Get 4 Free Bids Today!

www.ServiceMagic.com

Hundreds of Queensland residents could risk electrocution by checking their roofs for storm damage following revelations foil insulation installed under the Federal Government's stimulus program could be live with electrical current.

An audit of 1000 Queensland homes found two per cent were potential death traps, because foil insulation had been placed directly over live wires and fastened with metal clips, The Australian newspaper reported today.

Master Electricians Australia CEO Malcom Richards told brisbanetimes.com.au between 500 and 700 homes in the Sunshine State could be "live" as a result of poor installation.

If home owners entered their roof space and touched the insulation, they could be shocked or electrocuted, he said.

Other parts of the house could also be live, including taps and gutters, if the insulation or the metal clips touched piping or the external roof.

Mr Richards said homes with foil insulation should be inspected immediately, although the federal government is yet to finalise arrangements for a nationwide audit program.

"The first thing we don't want people to do is enter the ceiling and try and make any sort of assessment themselves. If people know they have foil insulation installed in their ceiling, they should stay well clear of it until they get it tested one way or the other," Mr Richards said.

Yet he was most concerned for residents cleaning out gutters and downpipes or inspecting their roofs for leaks after the weekend's severe thunderstorms.

"This is what I am very, very concerned about. This wet weather is going to prompt people to get up and look at their roofs and I'm very concerned we will see people get hurt.

"You don't need a very severe shock when you're on a ladder to fall off and suffer serious injury."

More than 37,000 homes nationwide have been fitted with foil insulation under the Rudd government's rebate scheme.

Concerned residents can register for an emergency inspection via the Master Electricians Australia website, but any licensed electrician can conduct an audit for less than $200.

But there is no guarantee the government or the installation company will be liable for the cost of an audit.

Home owners can also lodge a complaint with Federal Government via the website of the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

"However, I'd expect that residents wouldn't get urgent reaction from the government on that front, but I would get the complaint lodged so if [the government] does do some blanket auditing they are on the list," Mr Richards said.

Comment was being sought from Environment Minister Peter Garrett on an extension of the audit program earlier today.

Mr Richards said the government needed to axe foil insulation products from the $1200 stimulus program, following three deaths in Queensland.

A 25-year-old man was electrocuted in the roof of a Millaa Millaa house last Thursday, three months after the death of 16-year-old tradesman Rueben Barnes while installing insulation at a Stanwell home, south of Rockhampton.

The teenager most likely pierced an electrical cable in the roof as he was stapling the foil insulation in place, before receiving a fatal 240-volt shock.

A man was also killed in similar circumstances in October on Brisbane's southside.

"Last year's fatalities should have been a wake-up call to the insulation industry, but there are clearly businesses who are not interested in doing the right thing," Mr Richards said.

"If the industry can't stop the deaths, the government must."