On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 01:15:19 -0500, Jim Michaels
wrote:

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 14:35:10 +0100, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

I'm aware that this is an American site but just wondered if it is
accurate
enough to follow for my own project (apart from the obvious power
differences etc).

You are joking! US electrics are about as safe as attaching electrodes to
your genitals.

First we have
http://www.esfi.org/sub.php?l0=news&l1=20020904.html


In the UK, current practices are entirely different in almost every aspect.


Then we have
http://www.firesafetytoolbox.org.uk/...ty/default.htm

Adjusting for population it seems the UK is over 3 times as dangerous!



Err. No. Read more carefully.

From the first reference:

"According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC),
statistics indicate there are 40,000 residential fires annually caused
by problems with electrical wiring systems, claiming more than 350
lives, causing thousands of injuries from electric shocks and burns
and resulting in more than $2 billion in personal property damage. "

This refers to fixed wiring.

From the second:

"Each year, electrical faults, accidents or misuse of electrical
equipment cause 28,000 fires in homes."

This includes electrical appliances, and it is well known that many
more fires are caused by appliance misuse and failure than from fixed
wiring.








..andy

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