![]() ![]() To maximize the benefits of respiratory protection, it’s also important to ensure each employee has selected a respirator that provides a comfortable fit and doesn’t negatively impact productivity. Each type of respirator is given an assigned protection factor (APF), which is the level of protection it will provide when used properly, together with a written respiratory protection program. If OSHA mandated engineering and workplace controls cannot keep exposures below applicable limits, then welders must wear personal protection equipment (PPE) such as NIOSH-approved respirators. To learn more, see the AWS Ventilation for Welding and Cutting Safety and Health Fact Sheet and clause 5 of Z49.1 Safety in Welding, Cutting, and Allied Processes. “There are some companies that have gone to vision tests to make sure their welders could see well, because guys had their heads too close to the weld,” Hilbert says. Employers can also introduce policies to ensure that welders are not overexposed to fumes and gases. ![]() They should also reposition their body so that the air flows from back to front, away from the breathing zone. For example, welders should reposition their head and/or the work to keep their head away from the fumes. “There are a number of ways to achieve this.” Depending on the application and the workspace, natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation, or local capture devices can be used to keep fumes and gases out of a welder’s breathing zone.Īdministrative and work practice controls are those that require the welder or employer to do something. “Ventilation is the most common precaution,” Hilbert says. These can include isolation, such as enclosing the welding process, or ventilation, which includes capturing material at the source (local exhaust ventilation), and/or ambient collection. “Take a close look at your process and what you’re using there may be another way to accomplish your goal with less fume generation.”Įngineering controls involve physical changes to the workplace. ![]() “This could mean changing consumables away from heavier wire,” Hilbert says. For example, you might consider switching to shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) to gas metal arc welding (GMAW) with a solid or metal coated wire, or opt to use low-manganese filler metal. Elimination and substitution remedies are designed to prevent potentially harmful exposure. The hierarchy includes elimination and substitution, engineering controls, administrative and work practice controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE). ![]() Hilbert believes the best way to prevent potential problems with welding fumes is to enact OSHA guidelines known as the Hierarchy of Controls. The two most common exposure limits are permissible exposure limits (PEL), which were established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Threshold Limit Values (TLV), which were established by American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). And during that time a worker could be overexposed very easily.”Ī welder’s exposure can only be determined by taking a sample of the welder’s breathing air during the workday, which is essential when hardfacing, working with stainless steel, or joining other materials that require special ventilation products. “When you’re doing overlays and rebuilding surfaces on larger pieces of earthmoving equipment, there’s a lot of welding at any given time. “Hardfacing is an application that has higher fume-generation rates than just joining two pieces of metal together,” says Allan Hilbert, product manager for Filtair equipment at Miller Electric. Hardfacing also involves heavier flux-cored wire. This is particularly true when hardfacing, welding stainless steel, or doing projects that require high arc-on time. Simply leaving the shop door open for ventilation isn’t always enough to prevent the inhalation of dangerous welding fumes. ![]()
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