Arc flash can refer to two things people want to get rid of: the painful eye and skin injuries caused by an electrical arc, or the workplace hazard itself. If you’re dealing with symptoms right now, the good news is that arc flash eye injuries (photokeratitis) typically resolve within 48 hours. If you’re trying to eliminate arc flash hazards at work, the primary solution is de-energizing equipment before anyone works on it. This article covers both sides.
Treating Arc Flash Eye Injuries
An arc flash produces intense ultraviolet light that can burn the surface of your cornea, a condition called photokeratitis or “welder’s flash.” Symptoms usually appear 6 to 12 hours after exposure and include sharp pain, watering eyes, light sensitivity, and blurred vision. The condition is almost always temporary, with symptoms lasting anywhere from 6 to 48 hours before clearing on their own.
In the meantime, several treatments can speed healing and reduce discomfort. Preservative-free artificial tears or eye ointment help keep the damaged corneal surface lubricated. Cool packs placed gently over closed eyes provide pain relief. A doctor may prescribe dilating drops to relax the eye muscles and reduce pain, antibiotic drops to prevent infection while the cornea heals, or a mild steroid-based anti-inflammatory drop to control swelling. In more severe cases, a padded dressing or bandage contact lens may be placed over the eye to protect it while new tissue regenerates.
Avoid rubbing your eyes, and stay out of bright light until symptoms resolve. If pain worsens after 24 hours or your vision doesn’t improve within a couple of days, see an ophthalmologist. Repeated flash burns over time can cause lasting damage, so even mild episodes are worth taking seriously.
Treating Arc Flash Skin Burns
Arc flash temperatures can exceed 35,000°F, hot enough to ignite clothing and melt metal components. The resulting burns range from superficial redness to full-thickness destruction of all skin layers. Molten metal droplets can also embed in the skin and travel considerable distances from the source.
Superficial burns can be cooled with running water and loosely covered. Deeper burns, especially those covering a large area or affecting the hands, face, or joints, need professional treatment. Full-thickness burns generally require surgical intervention for proper wound healing. Any burn caused by an electrical arc also carries the risk of internal injury, since the current may have passed through the body, so medical evaluation is important even if the visible burn looks manageable.
Blast Injuries Beyond Burns
Arc flash isn’t just heat and light. A high-amperage arc produces a pressure wave that can exert up to 1,000 pounds of force, enough to throw a person across a room. This blast can cause broken bones, concussions, and internal injuries from impact with walls, equipment, or the ground. Hearing loss is another common result, as the explosive sound can rupture eardrums. If you were near an arc flash event, get checked for injuries beyond the obvious burns, particularly if you experienced any loss of consciousness, ringing in your ears, or difficulty breathing (which could indicate lung damage from inhaled molten particles).
Eliminating the Hazard at Work
The most effective way to get rid of arc flash risk is to remove the energy source before anyone goes near it. OSHA requires that live electrical parts be de-energized before work begins, unless the employer can demonstrate that de-energizing would create a greater hazard or is genuinely infeasible. This isn’t optional or best-practice guidance. It’s federal regulation under OSHA standard 1910.333.
De-energizing follows a structured lockout/tagout process with a specific sequence:
- Preparation: The worker identifies the type and magnitude of energy present, the specific hazards, and the method for controlling it.
- Shutdown: The equipment is turned off using established procedures to avoid creating new hazards during the shutdown itself.
- Isolation: All energy-isolating devices are physically located and operated to disconnect the equipment from its energy sources.
- Lockout/tagout: Locks or tags are attached to each isolating device, holding it in the off position and making it clear the equipment must not be re-energized.
- Stored energy verification: Any residual or stored energy (in capacitors, springs, pressurized lines, or similar systems) is relieved, disconnected, or otherwise made safe.
Every step matters. Skipping stored energy verification, for example, is a common cause of incidents even when the main power has been disconnected.
When Equipment Must Stay Energized
Some tasks, like diagnostic testing or troubleshooting, require equipment to remain live. In these cases, NFPA 70E (the 2024 edition is current) establishes a framework for managing the risk. Before work starts, a qualified employee identifies the hazards, assesses the risk level, and implements controls following a hierarchy that prioritizes engineering solutions over personal protective equipment.
NFPA 70E defines specific approach boundaries around energized equipment. The arc flash boundary marks the distance at which an unprotected worker would receive the equivalent of a mild sunburn if an arc flash occurred. Unqualified workers must stay outside this boundary entirely. Qualified workers operating within the restricted approach boundary need an energized work permit, appropriate arc-rated clothing, and insulated tools.
OSHA’s own approach distance tables reinforce these boundaries. For circuits at 300 volts or less, the rule is simply to avoid contact. At higher voltages, minimum distances increase: one foot for up to 750 volts, two feet for up to 15 kilovolts, and progressively more for higher voltages. Conductive jewelry, watch bands, key chains, and metal accessories must be removed or insulated before entering these zones.
Practical Steps to Reduce Arc Flash Risk
Beyond lockout/tagout and PPE, several engineering and administrative measures lower the probability and severity of an arc flash event. Remote racking and remote operation of circuit breakers allow workers to control equipment from outside the blast zone. Current-limiting fuses and fast-acting protective devices reduce the duration of an arc if one does occur, which directly reduces the energy released. Proper equipment maintenance, including keeping panels clean and replacing aging components, prevents the insulation failures and loose connections that often trigger arcs in the first place.
Arc flash hazard labels on electrical panels are required and tell workers the incident energy level and the boundary distance for that specific piece of equipment. If your workplace panels don’t have these labels, or the labels are outdated, that’s a compliance gap worth raising. The hazard analysis that generates those labels should be updated whenever the electrical system changes, such as when a transformer is replaced, a new panel is added, or the utility upgrades the service.
Training is the final layer. Only qualified persons may work on energized circuits, and OSHA defines “qualified” as someone capable of working safely on energized equipment and familiar with the proper use of insulating materials, shielding, and specialized tools. Annual refresher training and regular inspection of energy control procedures help maintain that qualification over time.