New York Post Online Edition: news: "January 31, 2004 -- Meter readers and clerical workers have been dispatched on a potentially dangerous hunt for stray voltage so Con Ed can keep its vow to check 250,000 manholes and pavement-level metal service boxes within a month, the workers' union said yesterday.
'These are people who don't know anything about electricity other than changing a light bulb,' said a worried Chuck Rizzo, safety director for Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America. 'We're praying no one gets hurt.'
Local 1-2 president Manny Hellen says he fears for the safety of hundreds of his clerical members, who he says are getting a 'crash course' in the use of a pen-like, battery-operated testing device that must be used with bare hands.
'They want you to hold it next to the metal manhole, and if the device lights up, that means there's a hazardous condition,' said Rizzo. 'In order to get close, the employee would have to bend over or kneel down to use the piece of equipment.
'He could fall and touch the cover. If the cover is alive, he could be electrocuted' - like Jodie Lane, who was electrocuted Jan. 16 as she walked her dogs on East 11th Street. Con Ed admitted Thursday that a year earlier, workers improperly insulated wires in the box.
Workers in the utility's electrical operations department who test manholes and boxes do the job with 'special electrical testing equipment. It requires a ground and they wear specialized rubber gloves that can withstand up to 1,000 volts,' said Rizzo.
But Con Ed spokesman Michael Clendenin said the test 'is no more dangerous than reading a meter.'
'Anybody can do it,' Clendenin said, adding that the company is 'absolutely not' putting workers in danger.
'If the device detects stray voltage and if they're not trained in splicing or that type of electrical work, they call it in and a crew is dispatched to make repairs.'
He said there are 650 people checking the manholes and metal service boxes for stray voltage. Of those, 200 are outside contractors and 450 are Con Ed employees."
'These are people who don't know anything about electricity other than changing a light bulb,' said a worried Chuck Rizzo, safety director for Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America. 'We're praying no one gets hurt.'
Local 1-2 president Manny Hellen says he fears for the safety of hundreds of his clerical members, who he says are getting a 'crash course' in the use of a pen-like, battery-operated testing device that must be used with bare hands.
'They want you to hold it next to the metal manhole, and if the device lights up, that means there's a hazardous condition,' said Rizzo. 'In order to get close, the employee would have to bend over or kneel down to use the piece of equipment.
'He could fall and touch the cover. If the cover is alive, he could be electrocuted' - like Jodie Lane, who was electrocuted Jan. 16 as she walked her dogs on East 11th Street. Con Ed admitted Thursday that a year earlier, workers improperly insulated wires in the box.
Workers in the utility's electrical operations department who test manholes and boxes do the job with 'special electrical testing equipment. It requires a ground and they wear specialized rubber gloves that can withstand up to 1,000 volts,' said Rizzo.
But Con Ed spokesman Michael Clendenin said the test 'is no more dangerous than reading a meter.'
'Anybody can do it,' Clendenin said, adding that the company is 'absolutely not' putting workers in danger.
'If the device detects stray voltage and if they're not trained in splicing or that type of electrical work, they call it in and a crew is dispatched to make repairs.'
He said there are 650 people checking the manholes and metal service boxes for stray voltage. Of those, 200 are outside contractors and 450 are Con Ed employees."
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