An Analysis of Accidents of Electrical Origin in Brazil between 2016 and 2021

Accidents caused by electricity are responsible for countless deaths and injuries of people/animals and damage to buildings and facilities worldwide. Although sufficient knowledge is available on making electrical installations safe, many countries do not have organized data on accidents of electrical origin, making it challenging to implement effective public policies to reduce the risk of accidents caused by electricity. Therefore, this research aims to present a methodology for collecting data from electrical accidents through the Google LLC alert monitor. The research methodology includes obtaining and analyzing electrical-related accident data involving electric shock, fires of electrical origin, and lightning. The application of this approach in Brazil between 2016 and 2021 validates this methodology. The analysis of this data points to a significant increase in accidents of electrical origin in the analyzed period. All categories of fatal accidents between 2016 and 2021 showed a marked increase; 10.3% due to electric shocks; 33.3%; due to lightning; 42.2% in fires caused by overload or short circuits. In the case of deaths from electric shock and lightning, more than 75% were men, and in the case of deaths from electrical fires, most were elderly and children. The analysis also includes detailed information about age and sex, the location of the accident, date, and cause. Consequently, guidelines to prevent the principal types of accidents of electrical origin from occurring could be developed.