Yep, and when they work on hot lines, they treat them as such, using the protective gear you mentioned. I cannot think of a time that I saw a lineman working o

Yep, and when they work on hot lines, they treat them as such, using the protective gear you mentioned. I cannot think of a time that I saw a lineman working on a power line that was not shorted, without protective gear. Working on a hot wire is a whole different story because every thing around you becomes a hazard. I do work on towers, sometimes in hot-RF environments (TV and radio antennas transmit with up to ~100,000 watts). The antennas will literally cook(like a microwave oven does) you if you get too close while they are live. For lower power situations, you can even hold your hand near the antenna -- it feels like a heat-lamp. Even at reduced levels, it can be harmful to areas of your body with poor circulation and cooling(such as your eyes), often causing damage before you're even aware of it. We wear an RF monitor when in those situations that alerts us if the RF field becomes stronger than is safe. I wonder if linemen wear a similar device that can alert them if an EM field becomes stronger than expected?