Shocking Fact of Life

Fortunately, static control as a way to ensure worker safety doesn't have to be complicated, Clark said. "The solution can often be as simple as installing an appropriate length strand of copper tinsel or a tinsel bar across the entire web or sheet width. Copper tinsel has hundreds of small soft-copper points, which ionize air molecules and allow static charges to flow to ground through the tinsel or tinsel bar, via an earth ground or a grounded machine frame," he said. "The net effect is that the ionized air molecules 'carry the static charge away,' before it can harm operators, or damage expensive machinery sensors or components."