Working Near Welders

How the dangers of welding fume extend to non-welders

In 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified welding fume as a group 1 carcinogen. The same group as Asbestos and Silica. The risks posed by welding fume apply not only to the welders, but also to the non-welders who share the same workplace air as welders.

When you consider a welding fume particle that is 0.5 μm in size can take 2 days to reach the floor when released from a height of 1.5 metres, you begin to understand how long these carcinogenic particles can remain suspended in the air and why in many workshops there is a constant fume haze even in the morning before welding has started. This is vital to consider when sharing a work environment with welders, as the air could contain respiratory hazards long after welding has been completed.

Based on a recent survey conducted by AWS, only 10% of Australian and New Zealand workplaces use engineering controls (such as on-gun fume extraction or hooded capture LEV) to remove welding fume from the environment and 28% can still see and smell welding fume in the workshop before the welding starts in the morning. This is a concern when the same survey found that 80% of workers who work around welders are not wearing ANY form of respiratory personal protective equipment. It is an employer’s legal responsibility to reduce welding fume exposure to as low as reasonably practicable for all persons, not just the welder.

If your workplace has welders sharing the same building or space as non-welders, it is imperative to introduce welding fume controls that not only protect the welders but also stop the spread of welding fume to other areas and to introduce PPE to protect non-welders.

Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) are highly effective product control options in limiting exposure to welding fume for non-welders.