OberA delivered an ePur100 industrial air purifier to a large machine manufacturer to protect operators from welding fumes. As operators were often mobile and in the air, they were already equipped with suction torches. We then added them to the power of an ePur100 to capture the remaining welding fumes in the environment. Satisfactory feedback from operators who no longer have to worry about health problems.
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What you need to know about welding fumes
Metal welding fumes can be considered hazardous to the health of operators and cause occupational illnesses, depending on their composition, concentration and duration of exposure. The risks affect not only welders, but also surrounding workers. Preventive measures are based on the use of collective and individual protective equipment.
What is welding?
The joining of metal parts, also known as metal welding, generates welding fumes. This is created by heating the edges of the various metals to a melting temperature using an energy source. The mixture of base and filler metal is diluted to form a weld bead or joint. Metal welding can be carried out on all metallic materials.
Numerous welding processes can be used and characterized as manual, semi-automatic and automatic. Electric arc welding is the most common technique used in the workplace, but there are others such as resistance, gas, mechanical and high-energy density welding.
What are the dangers of welding fumes?
Due to the high temperatures reaching the melting points, all welding processes emit potentially harmful fumes. These fumes can be inhaled by welders and bystanders in production buildings. Depending on the process, these vapors are mixed with hot air to form gases and dusts in varying proportions. The size of these dusts is less than 1 micrometer. Given their very small size, these dusts can reach the alveolar zone of the respiratory system.
Welding fumes are therefore a source of intoxication, leading to acute or chronic medical problems. The main pollutants contained in smoke are as follows:
| Polluants | |
|---|---|
| Irritants, toxiques ou allergisants | L’antimoine, le cuivre, le nickel, les fluorures, le manganèse, le titane, le zinc, le béryllium, le magnésium, l’aluminium, le molybdène, le plomb, le vanadium, le zirconium, le baryum et le chrome |
| Irritants | L’aldéhyde formique, l’ozone, le phosgène et le dioxyde d’azote |
| Toxiques | Le cyanure d’hydrogène, le monoxyde de carbone et le monoxyde d’azote |
| Fibrose pulmonaire | Le cobalt et le béryllium |
| Surcharge pulmonaire | L’aluminium, la silice amorphe, le fer, l’étain et le titane |
| Potentiellement cancérigène | Le béryllium, le cobalt, le chrome VI, le nickel et l’aldéhyde formique |
Several pathologies can develop as a result of welding smoke inhalation. The main pathologies encountered by employees carrying out welding work are as follows:
| Pathologies | Polluants | |
|---|---|---|
| Pathologies aiguës | Œdème pulmonaire | Ozone, oxyde d’azote, phosgène |
| Fièvre des métaux | Oxydes de zinc et de cuivre, oxyde de magnésium | |
| Asthme | Colophane, diisocyanate de toluylène, formaldéhyde | |
| Pneumonie toxique | Oxydes de manganèse, oxyde de cadmium, oxyde de béryllium | |
| Pathologies chroniques | Pneumoconiose | Oxydes de fer, oxyde d’aluminium, oxyde d’étain, oxyde de béryllium |
| Bronchite chronique | Oxydes d’azote, ozone, oxydes de chrome, oxydes de nickel, oxydes de manganèse, oxyde de cadmium | |
| Atteinte du système nerveux central | Oxyde d’aluminium, oxydes de manganèse | |
| Atteinte rénale | Oxyde de cadmium, oxyde de plomb, dioxyde de thorium | |
| Cancer broncho-pulmonaire | Oxydes de nickel, composés du chrome, oxyde de cadmium, oxyde de béryllium |
Source: INRS
How to prevent risks?
The precautions taken must be adapted not only to the processes and materials used, but also to the workplace (including the workshop and workstation). Consequently, an analysis of operators’ workplaces is vital before taking preventive measures. The aim is to gather together as many important factors as possible in order to define the implementation. Areas to be analyzed include welding techniques and parameters, machined parts, operators’ workstations, offices and the organization of material flows in workshops.
Several preventive solutions can be put in place to reduce welding fumes, such as source capture of welding fumes and general ventilation.
Welding fume collection at source is the safest solution for operators. This captures the smoke emitted and protects operators from the risk of inhaling dust and particles. Localized suction keeps contaminants to the lowest possible volume fraction and removes contaminants from the shop floor after filtration. Localized extraction captures released pollutants before they come into contact with operators and their respiratory tracts and/or spread throughout the workshop. Several types of localized extraction are available, such as a backsplash extractor, an extractor table, a hood or dust collectors.
