How safe is your work environment?
Arc welding is a safe occupation when sufficient measures are taken to protect the welder from potential hazards. When these measures are overlooked or ignored, however, welders can encounter such dangers as:
- electric shock
- overexposure to fumes and gases
- arc radiation
- fire and explosion
Long-term and even short-term exposure may result in serious or even fatal injuries.
Choosing a fume control
Every welding application has its own set of variables, so no single piece of extraction equipment suits all of them. Start from the airborne contaminant limits in the Safe Work Australia workplace exposure standards, then work through substitution, isolation and ventilation in that order before reaching for respiratory protective equipment.
Source material supplied by Lincoln Electric, first published on the AWI site in 2019. Product names are the supplier’s. Republished with the supplier marketing removed.