Lightning safety

New Mexico has the highest lightning-caused fatality rate and the second-highest lightning-caused injury rate in the nation.

ES&H Training (PS-13) reminds workers to move to a safe location during a thunderstorm to minimize a chance of injury. These include:

• Large, enclosed buildings
• Fully enclosed metal vehicles with the windows rolled up.

If caught outside find a low spot that is not inclined to flooding and is away from trees, fences and poles.

If there are no safe spots, get into the “lightning crouch” with your feet together and your heels up to minimize contact with the ground.

Avoid

• high elevations
• wide-open areas
• tall isolated objects such as trees or light poles
• lakes and pools
• and unprotected open structures such as picnic pavilions, rain shelters and bus stops

For more information, see the ES&H Training flyers at http://eshtraining.lanl.gov online.