Welding helmet airborne fume concentrations compared to personal breathing zone sampling

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blanc PD ; Liu D ; Quinlan P ; Wong H
• Description:
  A study was conducted on the effectiveness of welding helmets in reducing the exposure of workers to metal fumes. Experienced welders performed routine electric arc welding on galvanized mild steel in an environmental exposure chamber while wearing welding helmets. Air samples obtained from the breathing zones of the subjects and from within the helmets were collected and analyzed for metal fumes. Iron (7439896) levels were greater in 44% of the samples from inside the helmets compared with outside levels while 35% of zinc (7440666) exposures were higher inside compared with outside. The mean ratio of the inside to outside concentrations of iron was 0.9 and the median was 0.96. Similar values were seen for zinc. Decreasing ratios were seen with increasing outside concentrations of either iron or zinc. The authors conclude that any attenuation of metal gas fumes accomplished by the use of welding helmets is highly variable and sometimes negligible under heavy exposure situations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Metals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Welding
• Keywords:
  Arc-welders Metal-fumes NIOSH-Grant NIOSH-Publication Occupational-exposure Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Pulmonary-system-disorders Welders-helmets
• ISSN:
  0002-8894
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  280-283
• Volume:
  56
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00225663
• Citation:
  Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 1995 Mar; 56(3):280-283
• Contact Point Address:
  Cardiovascular Research Inst University of California PO Box 0924 San Francisco, CA 94143-0924
• CAS Registry Number:
  Iron (CAS RN 7439-89-6) ; Zinc (CAS RN 7440-66-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Performing Organization:
  University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19900401
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
• End Date:
  19930927
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1601a1bb44f5cab14cec3ee307d595c747980e32a30258764b6144e61ddaca0c579f1e558e8d775620ed8ac1b5ac2b9eb258c03e88d7ad0ff4091fba80917130
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/205887/cdc_205887_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 374.76 KB ]