Welding Fumes and Gases: Hazard Alert

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Description:
  Welding produces metal fumes and gases that can make you sick. The hazard depends on: 1) The welding method (such as MIG, TIG, or stick); 2) What the welding rod (electrode) is made of; 3) Filler metals and base metals (such as mild steel and stainless steel); 4) Paints and other coatings on the metals being welded; and 5) Ventilation. The Hazards: In confined spaces, welding can be deadly. Without enough ventilation, toxic fumes and gases can be much stronger. Shielding gases, like argon, can displace the oxygen and kill you. METALS. These are some of the toxic metals. Stainless steel contains nickel and chromium, which can cause asthma. Nickel and chromium 6 can cause cancer. Chromium can cause sinus problems and "holes" between the nostrils. Carbon steel contains more manganese than some other metals do. Manganese can cause Parkinson's disease, which cripples the nerves and muscles. Zinc in galvanized metal or in paint can cause metal fume fever. It feels like the flu and goes away in a few hours or days after exposure ends. COATINGS and RESIDUES. Lead (in some paints) can cause lead poisoning - headaches, sore muscles and joints, nausea, stomach cramps, irritability, memory loss, anemia, and kidney and nervous system damage. If lead dust goes home on work clothes/shoes, it can make your family sick, most of all your children. Cadmium (in some paints and fillers) can cause kidney problems and cancer. Other coatings may contain isocyanates, which can cause asthma; one type (TDI) may cause cancer. SOLVENTS. Welding through or near some (chlorinated) solvents can produce phosgene, a poisonous gas. The gas can cause fluid in the lungs. You may not notice the problem until hours after you quit welding. But fluid in your lungs can kill you. GASES. When carbon dioxide is used for shielding, carbon monoxide can form and kill you. Carbon monoxide can form also in oxyacetylene welding. The welding arc can form ozone and nitrogen oxides from the air. MIG and TIG welding make the most ozone, most of all when aluminum is welded. These fumes irritate the eyes, ear, nose, throat, and lungs and can damage the lungs. Some nitrogen oxides can cause fluid in the lungs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Aluminum Compounds Asthma Asthma, Occupational Confined Spaces Construction Industry Construction Materials Digestive System Digestive System Diseases Ear Eye Foreign Bodies Hazardous Substances Kidney Diseases Lead Lead Poisoning Lung Lung Diseases Mental Disorders Mental Health Metals Metal Workers Musculoskeletal System Neoplasms Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Nitrogen Oxides Nose Occupational Health Oxygen Paint Respiratory System Safety Safety Management Sense Organs Solvents Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System Ventilation Welding Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Aluminum-compounds Arc-welders Arc-welding Bronchial-asthma Cancer Coatings Confined-spaces Construction Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Ears Eye-irritants Fumes Gas-welders Gases Hazards Injuries Injury-prevention Kidney-disorders Lead-fumes Lead-poisoning Lung-disorders Lung-irritants Mental-disorders Metal-compounds Metal-fume-fever Metal-fumes Metal-workers Muscle-function Nasal-disorders Nervous-system-disorders Neurological-diseases Nitrogen-oxides Oxides Oxygen-deficient-atmospheres Paints Poison-gases Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Stainless-steel Stomach-disorders Throat Toxic-effects Toxic-gases Toxic-vapors Welders Welders-lung Welding-equipment Welding-industry Work-environment Work-practices Worker-health

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• Series:
  CPWR - Center for Construction Research and Training Publications
• Publisher:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  2 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20039615
• Citation:
  Silver Spring, MD: The Center to Protect Workers' Rights, 2004 Dec; :1-2
• Contact Point Address:
  Building and Construction Trades Dept., AFL-CIO: CPWR, Suite 1000, 8484 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aluminum (CAS RN 7429-90-5) ; Argon (CAS RN 7440-37-1) ; Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; Carbon monoxide (CAS RN 630-08-0) ; Chromium (CAS RN 7440-47-3) ; Chromium(6+) (CAS RN 18540-29-9) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Manganese (CAS RN 7439-96-5) ; Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0) ; Nitrogen dioxide (CAS RN 10102-44-0) ; Ozone (CAS RN 10028-15-6) ; Phosgene (CAS RN 75-44-5) ; Toluene 2,4-diisocyanate (CAS RN 584-84-9) ; Zinc (CAS RN 7440-66-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Welding Fumes and Gases: Hazard Alert
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:73345bb381339f3b43e61b60600fdeba7f37c193b746ac0e3e4d9bcd41cb4af4204936bfcc65d1a2875e21f8752b3a19ed98fc5a432bc01ca4a50f0496a3185c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213184/cdc_213184_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 31.43 KB ]