27 September 2023

Regulator warns of deadly wood art

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The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety ’s Building and Energy is warning of the potentially fatal dangers of do-it-yourself electrical devices after a man was electrocuted while allegedly handling a homemade appliance used for wood art.

The energy safety regulator is continuing to investigate the incident, which occurred in the Great Southern region in March.

Director of Energy Safety with Building and Energy, Saj Abdoolakhan said the electrical device was set up for a technique known as Lichtenberg or fractal burning, which used high-voltage electrical currents to burn patterns into wood.

“A similar device is also believed to have caused the death of a South Australian man in 2018,” Mr Abdoolakhan said.

“According to the American Association of Wood-turners, 24 deaths in the United States have been associated with Lichtenberg or fractal burning in the past four years, prompting the organisation to ban the technique at its events and exclude articles about it from publications.”

He said the recent tragedy in Australia was a stark reminder of the often silent dangers associated with electricity.

“The construction or use of any homemade high-voltage device by an untrained or inexperienced person risks the safety of the user and others in the vicinity, with devastating consequences in a split second,” Mr Abdoolakhan said.

“The hazardous wood-burning technique associated with these tragedies often involves improper use of components, inadequate insulation or protective equipment and unskilled construction and handling of a potentially deadly high-voltage apparatus,” he said.

“It is simply not worth the risk.”

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