Fatal accidents can occur when workers do not use insulating safeguards to preventelectric shocks. Many of these accidents are caused by contact with low and highvoltage objects. These accidents may not be entirely eliminated through the use ofinsulating safeguards. Workers often fail to use safeguards because they are difficult touse in tight work situation. Therefore, a more suitable insulating safeguard is requiredto prevent these accidents. We study the design of an insulating safeguard

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... d on theDC breakdown voltages of two insulating materials (a PMMA plate and an insulatingsheet of EVA). The breakdown voltage of the insulating sheet exhibits the polarityeffect though the characteristics of the PMMA plate are slightly dependent of thepolarity of the applied voltage. The results of this study will be useful in the basic designof insulating safeguards. Figure 1: Fatal electric shocks in Japan and the U.S. over time [1,2].