Matt paint inside welding booth ?

[Jim65]

Hi All,
I am a new H&S officer for a company that uses Mig and laser welders, We are setting up a new welding booth for rework, One of our welding experts reckons we have to paint it with a matt paint to stop the light reflecting and burning the welders arms?
As I am new to this industry I have no idea so thought I would ask for help

Jim65

 

[rtbcomp]

Welcome to the forum.

Matt paint will certainly reduce reflections which must be a good thing, was this sort of thing not covered in your training? along with what sort of clothing your welders should be wearing.

 

[Jim65]

I have a NEBOSH cert but have switched from a company that made car carpets and interior trim to one that welds components together before assembling them so slightly out of my depth, The guy welding will have the full PPE kit on but I didn't know if the regs stipulate non reflecting surfaces or not, The old booth we have is an aluminium frame with black curtains tied to it, The new one is a metal booth that we are linking into our extraction system, It is currently painted in a neutral colour but has a shiny surface which I being told will cause reflective arc ? I have heard of arc eye but not of it affecting the skin

 

[Parm]

I have a NEBOSH cert but have switched from a company that made car carpets and interior trim to one that welds components together before assembling them so slightly out of my depth, The guy welding will have the full PPE kit on but I didn't know if the regs stipulate non reflecting surfaces or not, The old booth we have is an aluminium frame with black curtains tied to it, The new one is a metal booth that we are linking into our extraction system, It is currently painted in a neutral colour but has a shiny surface which I being told will cause reflective arc ? I have heard of arc eye but not of it affecting the skin

Hi there I'm a H&S consultant that operates in the midlands. Send me a PM and I will give you my number if you want to have a chat about this

Parm

 

[rtbcomp]

It would be nice to keep this on the forum, we all might learn something then.

 

[Jim65]

Hi rtbcomp
Spoken to Parm, As I understand it there are no specific legal requirements to paint the inside of the booth with a matt paint, you can be exposed to ultraviolet radiation that can have similar effects to a tanning salon, But due to the nature of the process you should have your arms covered anyway, ( we have to grind as well as weld whilst re working the odd NOK part )

 

[Parm]

It would be nice to keep this on the forum, we all might learn something then.

Ok

As far as I'm aware there is no H&S guidance, legislation or otherwise that stipulates the painted colour of a room or area in which welding is undertaken. This I can confirm from nearly 20 years of visiting many many factories and workplaces. As you folk will know factories are what they are and often painted light colours to aid general illumination for all workers. Many welders may prefer a darker environment but I've also seen some very brightly lit welding rooms where high precision work is done typically for the aerospace industry.

Now specifically with respect to UV radiation and welding there is no known control measure that absorbs such radiation to minimise risk. To prevent what I call welders tan the only effective measure is to wear full length workshop clothing as a minimum with additional heavier garments such as aprons, and arm covers as the work requires.

The effects of UV radiation are quite damaging and can lead to malignant melanoma amongst other things, although
this is quite rare in the UK. I'm sure all the trained welders have at some point have been provided information on this.

Now moving to arc eye, the only and absolute form of protection is a proper welders face shield, that not only protects the eyes but gives protection to the face and neck from UV radiation. Painting a welding room Matt black or any other colour is not a control measure against the harmful effects of UV radiation. Modern reactolite type visors are very good and do exactly what is says on the tin.

Unfortunately these days when some one doesn't want to do something or isn't happy then good old Elf n Safety comes into play giving the trade a bad reputation.

We cannot all be experts in every situation no matter how many qualifications or how much experience you have so our friend has done the correct thing to ask the question. When looking at competency it's not what you know, it's understanding what you don't know so you can get the appropriate help

 

[skotl]

I am alone in feeling uncomfortable that a company is trusting the H&S of their welders to someone who is coming in with no prior experience of welding?

And I mean this with the greatest respect to Jim who I am sure comes with plenty experience from his previous industry but, learning on the job about the dangers of UV, for example, seems a bit... risky?

 

[the snooper]

plenty of welders work on structures that will reflect the arc light, so its all down to wearing the right gear to do the job, mainly common sense as always in these situations

 

[Parm]

plenty of welders work on structures that will reflect the arc light, so its all down to wearing the right gear to do the job, mainly common sense as always in these situations

Sadly there is a massive shortage of common sense

 

[brightspark]

Sadly there is a massive shortage of common sense

amongst the younger generation there is. not all mind .older makes wiser as we have seen it all before and still here to tell the tale

 

[Parm]

amongst the younger generation there is. not all mind .older makes wiser as we have seen it all before and still here to tell the tale

I couldn't agree with you more, I regularly investigate workplace accidents in a range of different industries and it's always almost young kids.

I say bring back proper apprenticeships where people are taught by seasoned veterans of THIER craft, and that includes all the H&S stuff

 

[Parm]

You guys got me going now,

No disrespect to anyone on this forum but all too often I see newbie/novice/inexperienced safety people teaching the old boys how to suck eggs. Needless to say the whole thing is pointless and wholly ineffective. At one of my clients all 10 people on a H&S course walked out as the person running the training didn't know or understand the first thing about any of THIER trades.