New code makes power outlets safer
The code, which is expected to be adopted by the provinces and territories, requires that new homes and renovation projects use tamper-proof electrical outlets.
The receptacles have a built-in shutter system designed to prevent foreign objects such as pins, keys or nails, from touching the live electrical wires. The shutters automatically open when the two prongs of an electrical plug are inserted in the receptacle. "But if you try to put something in just one [of the outlet slots], it won't work," explained Stephen Brown of the CSA.
Over the course of a six-year study, researchers found that 365 children in Canada received electric shocks by sticking objects into household electrical outlets. Many parents have tried to make their homes safer by placing plastic covers over electrical outlets. But such covers can still be removed by curious kids. The new code "will certainly protect many, many children who have not been protected until now," Mr. Brown said.
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PORTLAND - Construction on part of a $1 billion electricity transmission corridor through sparsely populated woods in western Maine is on hold because of legal action, but that doesn't mean all building has been halted.
Workers installed the first of 829 steel poles Tuesday on a widened portion of the existing corridor that is part of the project near The Forks, as the groundwork is laid for the 145-mile ( 230-kilometre ) New England Clean Energy Connect.
The work is getting started even though the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delayed construction of a new 53-mile ( 85-kilometre ) section.
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