Why is Electricity Dangerous? A: Electricity can and does KILL people.
Electricity for domestic use is normally supplied at 230V. For industrial use it can be supplied at 230V or 400V. On building sites it is common practice to find isolation transformers with a secondary voltage of 110V which has the centre point connected to earth. This ensures that if the user touches a live wire the maximum voltage on the body will be 55V, which is considered to be safe. IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) actually specifies 50V as the maximum safe touch voltage. However, most people have to use electricity at 230V and this is clearly well above the recognised safe levels.Q: What are the Effects of Current Flow Through the Human Body? A: The following information is based on studies carried out by Professor Biegelmeier, Dr. Osypka, and the IEC. The behaviour of the human body when exposed to an AC voltage is interesting in that the resistance of the body falls as the voltage increases.
