University of California Agricultural Health and Safety Center
My name
is Lupe Alcantar.
In March,
I was electrocuted while picking oranges in the central valley.
Maybe the reason I wasn't killed is because my dear mother
always prays for my safety.
I was
carrying my ladder on my shoulder when suddenly it touched
some power lines. The electric current jolted through my body
and I lost consciousness.
I was
under intensive care for two days and lost several weeks of
work. I was in a lot of pain and very frightened. So were
my family and friends. Thank God I'm okay now and have returned
to work.
But
this never should have happened.
The
worst thing is that I had received safety training on ladders
and power lines and how to avoid them but I paid no attention
to that training. I believed that nothing would ever happen
to me... I could have avoided all this pain.
Now
I am alert to every hazard at work and especially about how
I and my coworkers carry our ladders. And I pay attention
to the safety trainings we receive. There's no way that I'm
ever going to be electrocuted again!
Narrator:
Worker safety is your responsibility as well as your employer's.
California law requires that workers be provided health and
safety training at work. Pay attention to that training and
always be alert to possible hazards where you work. And if
you find hazards in your workplace, warn your coworkers and
report them to your supervisor right away.
This
is Jenny Rodriguez, from the University of California Agricultural
Health and Safety Center wishing you a healthier and safer
life.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not
represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears
by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
radio public service announcement was produced by the Agricultural
Health and Safety Center, Applied Behavioral Sciences of the
University of California at Davis. For further information
contact Jenny Rodriguez, UCCE, Ag. Bldg., County Civic Center,
Visalia, CA 93291-4584, (209) 733-6491.
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