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We had a case in France of a teenager who died by electrocution while taking a bath when his phone that was being charged fell in the bathtub (as reported by the press).

How is it possible taken into account the power provided by the usb-c connector?

I wrote have thought that this bare connector is safe as it may get in contact with the naked body (a baby talking it on they mouth for instance).

Davide Andrea
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WoJ
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    You may want to link any articles that include technical results from an investigation for this case. Details matter if you are looking for an explanation. Totally off-subject, but comes forward to mind right now because you mentioned a baby: Button batteries are death on wheels. Do not allow them to wind up anywhere a baby might pick one up and swallow it. I've seen the damage done. It's ugly and difficult to deal with, hard to diagnose without imaging being done, and sometimes fatal. – periblepsis Jun 23 '23 at 19:25
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    Without the article (and maybe even with the article), we can't say for sure what happened but knowing the length of most USB-C cables and the layout of most bathrooms, I'd say an extension cord (possibly to a non-GFCI outlet) might be involved. – vir Jun 23 '23 at 20:43
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    This seems to be the article: [a 16-year-old boy dies electrocuted in his bath while charging his mobile phone on the mains](https://euro.dayfr.com/local/426654.html). `His phone was plugged into an outlet next to him.` – Greenonline Jun 24 '23 at 09:33
  • Thank you @Greenonline - I only had a few French articles and the TV news. – WoJ Jun 24 '23 at 09:35

2 Answers2

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No, it isn't. Usually the electrocutions in bathtubs by USB-C are from Chinese (usually) supplies that are not tested by an NRTL and don't conform to international standards and are unsafe. A normal power supply would be current limited via transformer or other means or double insulated and may also be fused. If you threw a tested USB-C power tester in the bathtub, it wouldn't short AC mains to ground (in this case ground is the bathtub).

In addtion most newer wiring installations and regulations require a GFCI/RCD which would also protect against this electrocution.

Voltage Spike
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    In short, anything which is not tested and approved in the current jurisdiction should be considered to be unsafe- or at least uninsurable. – Mark Morgan Lloyd Jun 24 '23 at 16:26
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    I agree, but it's hard for consumers to know what is unsafe when power supplies have the NRTL marks, but don't conform to safety standards. I have bought a few of these supplies myself and sent them back, they had all the marks but invalid serial numbers – Voltage Spike Jun 24 '23 at 22:07
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    the bottom line is that Amazon and the rest have been allowed to get away with acting as a conduit for unsafe crap, to the detriment of both consumers who should be protected and local manufacturers and traders. – Mark Morgan Lloyd Jun 25 '23 at 06:59
  • Typically it was the retailers that could be sued for selling an unsafe product, but this is no longer the case – Voltage Spike Jun 25 '23 at 17:46
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Perhaps a cheap imported charger that doesn't conform to EU safety standards and does not isolate the low voltage side properly. The ground reference on the low voltage side was probably linked to what should have been neutral but may have been to live if the internal connections were wrong, or if the plug could be inverted or if there was also a fault in the house wiring

RedGrittyBrick
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