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Shocking! Singer Moby Electrocuted

MedpageToday
Singer Moby was "mildly electrocuted" by a hanging light fixture during a performance in Amsterdam. The 45-yr-old (born Richard Melville Hall) was promoting his new album and photography book both entitled Destroyed, when he received an electrical shock to the neck from a hanging light bulb. He fainted shortly afterwards and seemed to be unconscious for at least 30 seconds. Then, he still got up and performed.

According to Moby on his :
"yes, i was mildly electrocuted during an acoustic show at the reflex gallery in Amsterdam. but i’m feeling a-ok now. maybe i even had some accidental electro shock therapy. thanks for your concern."

Here's a :

According to the , for the last decade electrical injury has been responsible for an average of 320 deaths and over 4,000 injuries involving days away from work annually in the United States. It is the second leading cause of fatality in the construction industry and it consistently makes up 5 to 6% of all occupational fatalities.

An electrical injury is damage to the skin or internal organs when a person comes into direct contact with an electrical current. The human body conducts electricity very well.  Direct contact with electrical current can be deadly. While some electrical burns look minor, there still may be serious internal damage, especially to the heart, muscles or brain.

Electric current can cause injury in three ways:

  1. Cardiac arrest due to the electrical effect on the heart
  2. Muscle, nerve and tissue destruction from a current passing through the body
  3. Thermal burns from contact with the electrical source

Causes

  • Accidental contact with exposed parts of electrical appliances or wiring
  • Flashing of electric arcs from high-voltage power lines
  • Lightning
  • Machinery or occupational-related exposures
  • Young children biting or chewing on electrical cords or poking metal objects into an electrical outlet

Effects of Electric Current in the Human Body

Current

Reaction


Below 1 milliampere

Generally not perceptible

1 milliampere

Faint tingle

5 milliamperes

Slight shock felt; not painful but disturbing. Average individual can let go. Strong involuntary reactions can lead to other injuries

25 milliamperes (women)

Painful shock, loss of muscular control*

30 milliamperes (men)

The freezing current or " let-go" range.* Individual cannot let go, but can be thrown away from the circuit if extensor muscles are stimulated.

150 milliamperes

Extreme pain, respiratory arrest, severe muscular contractions. Death is possible.

1,000 – 4,300 milliamperes

Rhythmic pumping action of the heart ceases. Muscular contraction and nerve damage occur; death likely.

10,000 milliamperes

Cardiac arrest, severe burns; death probable

* If the extensor muscles are excited by the shock, the person may be thrown away from the power source.


Source: W.B. Kouwenhoven, " Human Safety and Electric Shock," Electrical Safety Practices, Monograph, 112, Instrument Society of America, p. 93. November 1968.

For information on prevention and first aid, see .