For workers, safety needs to come first

Iam deeply disturbed by the story evolving out of the death by electrocution of city worker Tobin “Toby” Williams as a result of an accident in the Santa Fe Community Convention Center (“Death prompts cease-work order,” July 17).

Toby apparently was working alone on an energized electrical circuit. He and his supervisors were reportedly not qualified to be doing the electrical work. No two-person rule using qualified electrical workers was being enforced, which could have saved his life. The circuit he was working on was obviously, in retrospect, carrying lethal electrical energy. A breakdown in workplace safety seems to have occurred. It appears to me that a complete overhaul of workplace safety in Santa Fe city government must commence, immediately, before anyone else is hurt.

I know a little bit about workplace safety. Since the mid-1980s, I have been in management and leadership positions in geochemistry and analytical chemistry laboratories at several institutions. I, my students and staff routinely dealt with high voltages up to 10,000 volts DC and 480 volts AC, stored electrical energy in capacitors, highly toxic concentrated mineral acids used to dissolve rocks and other refractory compounds, pressurized reactor vessels, highly radioactive materials, and Group 1 carcinogens. I had one accident while in graduate school that left me in an ER at well past midnight when I let fatigue and deadline pressure get the better of me. It was a long night.

Workplace safety involves training workers in the knowledge needed to do their jobs safely and having leaders who are dedicated to the program. That is why training people is important, such as ensuring electrical work is done by electrical workers qualified to know the hazards and controls needed to work on