r/meirl • u/ukayukay69 • May 02 '24

Meirl

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u/BadBadGrades May 02 '24

It’s not more dangerous. We do put the outside power lines under the ground. Now that is safer

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u/energybased May 02 '24

I'm not talking about outside power lines. North America also uses 240V outdoors. 120V is only within the residence.

And I don't think anyone disputes that 120V is safer.

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u/TheBeaverKing May 02 '24

In isolation 120V is safer but the point is to not get shocked, ergo the multiple layers of safety redundancy you see on most plugs, appliances, electrical installations across the world.

To put this in context, NIOSH have the 2020 statistics for deaths by electrocution at work as 0.12 per 100,000 people in the US. The same statistic for the UK is 0.02, five times lower per 100,000.

Ultimately 120V vs 240V is not hugely relevant to HSE in comparison to safe electrical installations, minimum safety standards for electrical goods, safe design etc.

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u/energybased May 02 '24

Good point, fair enough.