All references are based on the 2023 edition of the NEC.
Parking Lot Pole Problems
A big “thank you” goes to Daniel K., an electrical engineer from Boston, for sharing this photo with us. In Daniel’s words, he found this “public electrocution shock hazard” at a parking lot pole light for a shopping plaza.
I agree with Daniel that the missing cover increases the risk of getting shocked by the exposed energized wires. An unsuspecting person (including a child) could easily stick their fingers in that handhole and make contact with the energized wires and connections. Section 410.30(B)(1) requires the handhole on this metal pole to have a cover suitable for use in wet locations to prevent people from inadvertently touching the energized wires and to protect the wires from environmental hazards such as sunlight, rain, snow, and even critters who may want to climb inside that pole and start chewing. Apparently, the last person to work on the pole could not find a handhole cover so they haphazardly wrapped some black electrical tape around the pole in a half-hearted attempt to keep the wires inside the pole. If the tape was meant to be a “temporary fix” until the real cover was installed, I suppose the installer should have used a lot more tape.
Scary Fountain Wiring
This is definitely one of the most dangerous installations I have ever discovered. This fountain is located in the lobby of a resort hotel and is fully accessible to the general public. Children can sit right on the edge of this fountain and grab those exposed wires. That is really scary to me.
The combination of the missing cover and wires dangling directly in the water creates a tremendous shock hazard. The wires were used to power some 120V floodlights installed to light up the fountain. The missing box cover violates Sec. 314.25. The lack of a raceway for the black and white wires is a violation of Sec. 310.10. The lack of any equipment grounding conductor violates many requirements, including Secs. 250.112, 410.42, 680.7, and 680.54.
I was only visiting this hotel as a guest and was not able to determine if this circuit has GFCI protection. I certainly hope it does. However, seeing how the rest of this installation was made, I tend to doubt it. While GFCI protection can help reduce the risk of shock, it can’t prevent every type of shock. The risk of getting a shock here is very high.
