Why Are Welding Fumes Dangerous?

Welding processes can generate extremely fine airborne particles and hazardous gases. Depending on the process and materials involved, welding fumes may contain substances such as:

• Iron oxides
• Manganese
• Chromium
• Nickel
• Cobalt
• Zinc oxide
• Ozone
• Nitrogen oxides
• Carbon monoxide

These substances can irritate the airways, damage the lungs and cause both immediate and long-term health effects.

Health Effects of Welding-Fume Exposure

Exposure to welding fumes may cause or contribute to:

• Metal fume fever
• Coughing and chest tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Occupational asthma
• Pneumococcal pneumonia
• Reduced lung function
• Chronic respiratory disease
• Neurological effects from substances such as manganese
• Lung cancer

All welding fumes can cause lung cancer and may cause kidney cancer. This includes fumes produced when welding mild steel.

Welding-Fume Exposure Must Always Be Controlled

Suitable exposure controls must be used for every welding activity. This requirement applies regardless of:

• The welding process
• The metal or consumable being used
• Whether the work is undertaken indoors or outdoors
• Whether the fume is visible
• How frequently welding takes place
• How long the task lasts

A brief welding task is not risk-free. Suitable controls must be selected and put into operation before work begins.

Employers’ Responsibilities for Welding-Fume Safety

Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, known as COSHH, employers must prevent exposure where reasonably practicable. Where prevention is not reasonably practicable, exposure must be adequately controlled.

Employers’ responsibilities include:

• Completing a suitable and sufficient COSHH risk assessment
• Considering alternative or lower-fume working methods
• Providing effective engineering controls, normally LEV for indoor welding
• Ensuring adequate general workplace ventilation
• Providing suitable RPE where required
• Protecting other people who may be exposed
• Maintaining, examining and testing control equipment
• Providing information, instruction, training and supervision
• Arranging health surveillance where the risk assessment identifies a need
• Monitoring exposure where necessary
• Reviewing the risk assessment and control measures

Employees’ Welding-Safety Responsibilities

Employees also have important responsibilities. Workers must take reasonable care of themselves and other people who may be affected by their actions.

Employees must:

• Follow the approved safe system of work
• Use LEV and other control measures correctly
• Wear the required RPE and PPE
• Check equipment before use
• Keep control equipment in an effective position
• Report damaged or ineffective equipment immediately
• Report relevant health symptoms promptly
• Attend required training and health-surveillance appointments
• Avoid misusing or interfering with safety equipment

Use Local Exhaust Ventilation to Control Welding Fumes

Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) is an important engineering control for indoor welding. It captures fume close to the point where it is generated, before it enters the welder’s breathing zone or spreads around the workplace.

Suitable equipment may include:

• On-torch extraction
• Fume-extraction welding guns
• Portable extraction units
• Moveable extraction arms
• Fixed extraction hoods

The extraction hood or nozzle must be positioned close enough to capture the fume effectively. It should be repositioned whenever the welding location or working angle changes.

Maintaining and Testing LEV

LEV equipment must be maintained in efficient working order and good repair. It must also be thoroughly examined and tested by a competent person at least once every 14 months.

General Ventilation Is Not Enough on Its Own

Good general ventilation helps prevent welding fumes from accumulating within the workplace. However, general ventilation alone is not normally sufficient to control indoor welding fumes.

Effective engineering controls should capture fumes at source rather than allowing them to spread throughout the workplace.

Use Respiratory Protective Equipment Where Required

Suitable respiratory protective equipment (RPE) must be provided and used where LEV does not adequately control exposure or where LEV is not reasonably practicable.

RPE must be:

• Adequate for the hazards involved
• Suitable for the wearer, task and environment
• Compatible with the welding visor and other PPE
• Inspected before use
• Cleaned, maintained and stored correctly
• Worn throughout the period of exposure

Tight-fitting RPE must be face-fit tested for the individual wearer. The wearer must also be clean-shaven wherever the mask seals against the face.

Wear the Correct Welding PPE

Depending on the risk assessment, welding PPE may include:

• A welding helmet or visor with a suitable filter shade
• Safety glasses or goggles
• Heat-resistant welding gloves
• Flame-resistant protective clothing
• Suitable safety footwear
• Hearing protection
• Suitable RPE

PPE is the final line of defence and does not replace effective engineering controls. It must be worn correctly and kept in good condition.

Follow Safe Welding Practices

Safe working practices support the risk assessment and engineering controls. Important precautions include:

• Positioning extraction equipment correctly before welding
• Repositioning moveable extraction as the work progresses
• Keeping your head out of the fume plume
• Avoiding leaning directly over the weld
• Using approved welding processes and settings
• Checking materials for hazardous coatings and contamination
• Inspecting welding and extraction equipment before use
• Keeping the work area clean and organised
• Protecting other people from fumes, radiation and sparks
• Stopping work if the required controls become ineffective

Report Defects and Health Concerns Immediately

Workers should stop welding and report the problem if:

• The LEV is not capturing the fume effectively
• Extraction equipment stops working
• RPE or PPE is damaged, unsuitable or unavailable
• Welding equipment, cables or gas equipment is defective
• Fumes are spreading towards other people
• The materials differ from those identified in the risk assessment
• A worker develops coughing, chest tightness, dizziness or breathing difficulties

Work should not restart until the problem has been assessed and effective controls have been restored.

Final Welding-Fume Safety Checklist

• Treat all welding fumes as a serious health hazard.
• Complete and follow the COSHH risk assessment.
• Prevent or adequately control exposure during every welding activity.
• Use effective LEV for indoor welding.
• Do not rely on general ventilation alone.
• Use suitable RPE where engineering controls are insufficient or impracticable.
• Wear the required welding PPE correctly.
• Keep your head out of the fume plume.
• Inspect equipment and report defects immediately.
• Protect everyone who may be affected by the work.
• Stop work if exposure cannot be adequately controlled.

By using effective extraction, wearing the correct protective equipment, following safe working procedures and reporting problems immediately, workers can protect their own health and the health of everyone around them.