Hazards and Effects of Welding Fumes

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The Hazards of Welding Fumes for the Different Metals and their Symptoms | In this paper I hope to show some of the hazards that are associated with being exposed to some of the different types of fumes produced while welding. The hazardous effect of welding fumes and gases on a welder's health can vary with the different types of metals, the length, the amount of the exposure, and the specific toxicity of the metals involved. The welding process involving stainless steel involves, cadmium- or lead-coated steel, or metals such as nickel, chrome, zinc, and copper can be hazardous as the fumes produced have a higher toxicity level than those which a welder breaths when welding mild steel. Mild steel will consists mostly of iron, carbon, and small amounts of manganese, phosphorous, sulfur, and silicon. While stainless steel consists’ mainly iron, chromium, nickel, titanium, and manganese. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) criteria document identifies arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium (VI), and nickel as potential human carcinogens that a welder could be exposed to in welding fumes.( NIOSH [1994a]. NIOSH pocket guide to chemical hazards. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-116.) “Epidemiological studies and case reports of workers exposed to welding emissions have shown an excessive incidence of acute and chronic respiratory diseases. Welder respiratory ailments can include occupational asthma, siderosis, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, fibrosis of the lung, and lung cancer. Epidemiological evidence indicates that welders generally have a 40 percent increase in relative risk of developing lung cancer as a result of their work. Other cancers

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