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The great tragedy in Voždovac, in which a twelve-year-old boy lost his life while trying to plug in a phone charger or computer, reminded the public of the terrible story of a two-year-old from Zemun who ended up on cameras in May due to to a faulty mobile charger. for artificial respiration.
Electric shocks from faulty appliances and installations can be fatal to children and adults alike, even with the smallest devices.
The head of the Laboratory for testing of environmental working conditions of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade and the expert in domestic installations prof. Dr. Miomir Kostić warns that there is only one mistake with electricity.
– We live surrounded by appliances in old houses and apartments. There are no regulations that require periodic inspections of the facilities. If the installations are faulty, the sockets of each device are also faulty and therefore for the person. Even if it was a phone charger. And they can be dangerous, especially if they are not of the proper quality, that is, if they are not certified, notes Dr. Kostic.
Remember that we do not install pre-voltage protection devices that send excess electricity to the ground, which increases the risk even more.
– As for the phone charger, there is no reason to keep it constantly plugged in, especially when there are small children in the house. The charger consumes electricity constantly because it works almost constantly, regardless of whether, say, the phone is not connected to it. And when something is constantly running, it is subject to failure and dangerous voltage can break down on the 230 volt secondary side, which is extremely dangerous. Therefore, it is best to keep chargers turned off when not in use, and they should be changed as soon as we see that something is wrong. They are certainly inexpensive and their replacement will not have much of an impact on the household budget, and can prevent a great tragedy, says Dr. Kostić.
The manager of a service for renowned mobile phone manufacturers agrees with him, saying that they are most annoyed by those who do not care about damaged or uncertified chargers.
– Original chargers are not usually a problem because in the first place they are certified, tested and there is a guarantee for them. The biggest problem is counterfeit chargers, which were once very faithful copies of the originals, not licensed by the phone manufacturer and original parts. They can cause various damage to the phone’s hardware and sometimes they can also cause a fire, warns our interlocutor.
It points out that chargers are generally not repaired, but must be replaced immediately, and that this should be done at the first signs that something is wrong, such as an electric shock when removing the phone or other devices from the charger or a spark from the outlet. plug it in.
– Such things happen when the chargers are damaged, and most of the time the copies do not have enough insulation and that is why an electric shock happens. The consequences of shock can sometimes be mild in the form of minor burns or burns and, depending on the severity of the shock, can sometimes be fatal, as was the case with, say, the unfortunate children we mentioned. That is why it is important to never leave the chargers plugged in, to keep them away from any source of heat and humidity and to protect them from mechanical damage. Of course, at the first sign of damage or malfunction, they must be replaced immediately, and not save on it, says our interlocutor.
Consequences of an electric shock: from burns to brain damage
There are no official statistics in Serbia on how many fires were caused by faulty electrical installations or appliances, and what can be concluded, according to media reports, is that the number is very large.
These fires often leave great material damage and, unfortunately, sometimes human victims. Doctors in health institutions throughout Serbia have every year only a few cases of accidents directly caused by electric shock.
Doctors characterize these cases as incidental injuries and the success of their rehabilitation is highly uncertain. Burns are most often treated, and the most serious are the systemic risks of an electric shock that has passed through the body. The most terrible and dangerous consequences are damage to the brain, that is, to the central nervous system.
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