Safety At Work - Welding Fume Extraction

Welding Fume Extraction – Cancer-Causing Fumes & UK’s Health & Safety

 

Welding Fume Extraction – New scientific data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is a long-standing agency of the World Health Organisation, suggests that exposure to welding fume can cause lung cancer. Moreover, with limited evidence, the agency also links it to kidney cancer!

To Read Further About The Wide Variety Of Masterflex Hoses, Suitable for Welding Fume Extraction, then please Click Here!

The IARC Report & The HSE Reinforcement

The IARC is the agency accountable, in this case, for the reclassification of welding fume as a human carcinogen.

This IARC Report (“Welding, Molybdenum Trioxide, and Indium Tin Oxide IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Volume 118“) is the summary of a detailed exam of hundreds of individual scientific papers.

The report reclassifies, in short, welding fumes as Group 1: carcinogenic to humans; it contains a review (page 255) and an evaluation (page 265).

Accordingly, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), on 18th Feb 2019, has also extended its enforcements expectation for all types of welding fume (not just for mild steel welding fume).

General ventilation in the past, per HSE, has not achieved the necessary control. HSE’s Manufacturing Statistics Report, for last year, stated that “An estimated 43,000 people who worked in the last 12 months currently have “breathing or lung problems” they regard as caused or made worse by work (95% Confidence Interval: 36,000 to 51,000).’

HSE’s target is to reduce this number as a part of its ‘Go Home Healthy’ initiative. Moreover, HSE will not accept any welding to be undertaken, from 18th Feb 2019, without suitable exposure control measures in place.

“Actions Required”: To Subdue the Risk of Cancer-Causing Fumes

1. Make sure exposure to any welding fumes released is adequately controlled using engineering measures – typically local exhaust ventilation (LEV).

2. Make sure suitable controls are provided for all welding activities, regardless of duration. This includes welding outdoors.

3. Where engineering controls alone cannot control exposure, then adequate and suitable Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) should be provided to control risk from any residual fumes.

4. Make sure all engineering controls are correctly used, suitably maintained and are subject to thorough examination and testing where required.

5. Make sure any RPE supplied is subject to an RPE programme. This should encapsulate all the elements of RPE use you need to ensure that your equipment is effective in protecting the wearer.

Source: HSE

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

All businesses are now required to use Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) for welding activities indoors and Repository Protective Equipment (RPE) for outdoor welding and in extreme conditions where LEV would not be enough to protect against welding (residual) fumes.

For businesses, that are not following the new stronger guidance, this could be a costly oversight; putting their staff at risk due to the wrong ventilation controls and equipment in use.

Therefore, changes are required, with immediate effect, for ventilation; as general ventilation is now no longer enough. All businesses are required to ensure that adequate controls, to correctly used to control fume arising from welding activities of any duration, are provided. Fume extraction, with appropriate hose/ducting, needs to be in place.

Welding Fume Extraction With Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) & Using Specialised Ducting Hoses

Fume extraction, using Local Exhaust Ventilation, is known to be a very efficient option for removing fumes from workplace air. This type of fume extraction requires special ducting hoses.

Welding Fume Extraction Hose

Welding Fume Extraction Hose

Masterflex flexible welding fume extraction ducting hose, the Master Clip SPARK, has designed specifically for welding fume extraction, metal fabrication and cutting; its construction is PVC-coated glass fabric which makes it ideal for removing harmful dust, smoke and welding fumes.

Different types, of weldings, give rise to varying quantities of hazardous fumes. The smaller these welding fume particles, the more dangerous they become; because the smaller particles can efficiently mix will with the air to be inhaled.  Therefore using non-specialised ducting hoses, not designed for welding fumes, can result in harmful elements in the air; i.e. a wrong type of hose could have a shorter life span and have a much higher risk of being punctured.  Furthermore, a conventional hose may not be reinforced, have abrasion and scuffing protection, be fire retardant and be suitable for higher welding fume temperatures. In short, it is vital to procure a proper fume extraction hose for harmful weld fumes and dust particles.

The Masterflex Master Clip Spark welding fume extraction hose, made from PVC-coated glass fabric and strong spring steel wires, is designed to be extremely flame retardant; furthermore, it is highly flexible, compressible up to 1:6 and resistant to flying sparks.

Welding Fume Extraction Hose Description

If you are interested in our flexible spark resistant welding fume extraction ducting hose, then do contact us by e-mail or get a free consultation on the telephone by one of our technical hose experts.

Master Clip Spark Hose - Welding Fume Extraction Hose

The Master Clip Spark Hose For Welding Fume Extraction

Welding Fume Extraction Hose – Description

We offer Welding Fume Extraction Hose that is great for weld fume extraction in all industries.

• PVC coated glass fabric ducting
• Reinforced with external galvanised steel helix.

Properties for Welding Fume Extraction Hose

• Highly flexible and compressible
• Outer helix protects against abrasion and scuffing
• Fire retardant to M1 standard.

Applications

• Weld fume extraction in all industries.

Colour

Dark Grey

Size Range

50mm to 900mm

Temp Range

-20ºC to +90ºC (intermittent to +110ºC)

Options

• Special diameters
• Other lengths are available on request.

Download Data Sheet – Master Clip Spark Hose

Download Masterflex Chemical Resistance Data Sheet

Contact Masterflex Technical Hoses Ltd UK – For a Free Consultancy!

If any interests in our flexible welding fume extraction hose, please feel free to contact us through e-mail: info@masterflex-uk.com or by Telephone:

0161 626 8066

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