Backyard Electrocution 
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The Oregonian - Local News Section
Metro South News
Milwaukie High struggles after electrocution
02/26/02
STEPHEN BEAVEN
Students and teachers at Milwaukie High School were struggling Monday with the death of a popular senior who was electrocuted in his back yard while helping with what his father characterized as a science experiment.
Xia He, who was killed Saturday afternoon at his home in the 8600 block of Southeast Owen Drive, was an intellectually curious student who was eager to help others who worked at the Web design business he ran from the high school, said Jeff Linman, chairman of the science department.
"Today is a hard day," Linman said. "There are a lot of kids who are struggling with it. He touched a lot of people."
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office is investigating Xia's death as an accident but wants to determine whether there was any criminal negligence, said Detective Jim Strovink. Yuanhuai He, Xia He's father, probably will be interviewed a second time in the next week, Sgt. Ed Mura said.
Xia, 18, was helping his father about 2 p.m. Saturday when both were shocked by a live power line. Yuanhuai He, 50, suffered minor injuries to his arms and chest.
Yuanhuai He said Monday he has been conducting research in his back yard about the natural energy emitted from plants and trees. On Saturday, he said he wanted to determine whether the power lines in his back yard were emitting electrical signals that were interfering with readings he'd taken from the trees.
So the father climbed a ladder next to a power pole carrying voltage-measuring tools made from a gardening stake, a coat hanger, sheet metal and wire. While he climbed higher, getting closer to the top wire, his son was holding a voltage meter on the ground, according to the sheriff's office report.
Yuanhuai He said Monday that even as he moved closer to the power line, his son told him that there was no movement on the voltage meter. So he continued to move the tool closer, thinking that the 7,200-volt power line was grounded.
The He family moved from China to Germany in 1992 and to the United States a year later. In China, Yuanhuai He told a deputy, the top wire is always grounded. But the top line in his back yard was not grounded.
At one point, Yuanhuai He either touched the top wire with the homemade tool or moved it close enough that the electricity arced to the tool. At the same time, according to the sheriff's office report, Xia He was apparently holding the wire leading to the homemade tool and attaching it to the voltage meter. Both men were shocked.
Yuanhuai He said that his son was paying too much attention to his father's safety, worrying that he had climbed too high.
"My son died for me," an emotional Yuanhuai He said. "He was paying attention to me. I told him not to touch the wire."
Although minute electrical signals can be detected in plants, they can be measured only with sophisticated equipment, said Donald Armstrong, a professor in the department of botany and plant pathology at Oregon State University.
"These are very, very weak signals," said Armstrong, who was not familiar with Yuanhuai He or his experiments. "It's not anything I would imagine he could pick up with equipment likely to be at his disposal."
Kregg Arntson, a spokesman for Portland General Electric, said Xia He's death is a sobering reminder about the dangers of working with live wires.
"It's a sad lesson in what can result from interfering with electrical equipment when you're not trained," he said.
You can reach Stephen Beaven at 503-294-5928 or by e-mail at stevebeaven@news.oregonian.com.
Submitted on 02/26/02
Submitted by:
Michael
Reference:
http://www.oregonlive.com/
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