Welding Fumes....latest

[Brad93]

I’ve worked in some disgusting workplaces. Attitudes to fume and dust were terrible.

They are charging good money for work going out, it should be their duty to protect their employees/sub-contractors.

A lot of these companies should be ashamed of themselves and I hope it costs them an arm and a leg meeting any standards that get set.

 

[Seano]

I for one will be fitting my new Optrel with papr as soon as is financially possible, having spent years stick welding stainless at sea I'm amazed my lungs are as clear as they are and am only mildly asthmatic following a chest infection in Africa.

 

[Kent]

Home gamer here! I'm seriously looking at an air fed mask. TIG isn't so bad. MIG is bad, stick welding is bloody awful. I can create a pea souper in the garage with stick. I am looking at improved ventilation too. I can't open the main garage door due to the passing scrote problem. I don't need an official report to tell me weld fumes are bad news. Cheapest air fed mask on ebay is £340. Out of interest, what are they like to wear? Do they make your face all hot and sweaty?

No they dont quite the reverse

 

[matt1978]

By all accounts it’s gone crazy for fume related products. I’ve spoken to lots of our distributors lately and they all say that they have sold much more than a typical years worth of Air fed helmets, fume extraction and on torch extraction in the last couple of weeks. Downside is pretty much all the UK stock has now been sold of most of the popular items from the most popular brands and they are looking at around 4-6 week delivery on the new stuff coming in.

 

[Welderpaul]

By all accounts it’s gone crazy for fume related products. I’ve spoken to lots of our distributors lately and they all say that they have sold much more than a typical years worth of Air fed helmets, fume extraction and on torch extraction in the last couple of weeks. Downside is pretty much all the UK stock has now been sold of most of the popular items from the most popular brands and they are looking at around 4-6 week delivery on the new stuff coming in.

Nederman fume carts are on an 8 week lead in now. We managed to get in early and get a couple. They must be rubbing their hands together.
Do Lorch do any form of on torch extraction?

 

[Kent]

By all accounts it’s gone crazy for fume related products. I’ve spoken to lots of our distributors lately and they all say that they have sold much more than a typical years worth of Air fed helmets, fume extraction and on torch extraction in the last couple of weeks. Downside is pretty much all the UK stock has now been sold of most of the popular items from the most popular brands and they are looking at around 4-6 week delivery on the new stuff coming in.

Yep express didnt even have the elipse mask in yesterday let alone air fed

 

[matt1978]

Nederman fume carts are on an 8 week lead in now. We managed to get in early and get a couple. They must be rubbing their hands together.
Do Lorch do any form of on torch extraction?

No, not at the moment. We may do in the not so distant future but not going to be quick enough to be able to react to this recent upturn in demand

 

[matt1978]

Yep express didnt even have the elipse mask in yesterday let alone air fed

Yes, Finbarr was one of the guys who was telling me about how mad everything had gone. He’d already bought up a lot of stock from suppliers but was desperate for more

 

[matt1978]

I also heard that the original report that the HSE has based its latest advice from was actually carried out by an Australian university, but this was more than 2 years ago. I’m not sure why it took our HSE so long to issue their advice if that’s true.

The welding consumable manufacturers are already squeaky clean in any case because they have been writing on the packaging for years not to breathe in the fume.

It was already common knowledge in the industry for decades that exposure to the fume from the welding of CrNi’s and Aluminium’s was potientially carcinogenic so I’m suprised more wasn’t done sooner

 

[Kent]

I also heard that the original report that the HSE has based its latest advice from was actually carried out by an Australian university, but this was more than 2 years ago. I’m not sure why it took our HSE so long to issue their advice if that’s true.

The welding consumable manufacturers are already squeaky clean in any case because they have been writing on the packaging for years not to breathe in the fume.

It was already common knowledge in the industry for decades that exposure to the fume from the welding of CrNi’s and Aluminium’s was potientially carcinogenic so I’m suprised more wasn’t done sooner

Hey the world new what asbestos did way before it was legislated against

 

[Seano]

I also heard that the original report that the HSE has based its latest advice from was actually carried out by an Australian university, but this was more than 2 years ago. I’m not sure why it took our HSE so long to issue their advice if that’s true.

The welding consumable manufacturers are already squeaky clean in any case because they have been writing on the packaging for years not to breathe in the fume.

It was already common knowledge in the industry for decades that exposure to the fume from the welding of CrNi’s and Aluminium’s was potientially carcinogenic so I’m suprised more wasn’t done sooner

Sadly Matt, anything that filters through to the UK, From The Men Down Under tends to get a large dose of it "doesn't really matter because its down there"

 

[Turbo]

I was in my local BOC shop & I was chatting to them about this. BOC UK are completely sold out of all air fed stuff, have been for weeks! They are waiting for stuff to be manufactured (probably in China ) before being shipped to them, but no idea when!

 

[jerrytug]

Well I've got a headache and a horrible sore throat and cough, from 2 hrs stick welding on Wednesday. Just mild steel with 6013's.
It's in a college with a huge fume extraction plant, with a big sucker-outer in every booth. I had thought it must be fine, being a college, but it still got me
I foolishly imagined I would be able to go down Screwfix this week and buy an 18v rechargeable blown air mask for a 100 quid or thereabouts.. how wrong can you get!

 

[matt1978]

Well I've got a headache and a horrible sore throat and cough, from 2 hrs stick welding on Wednesday. Just mild steel with 6013's.
It's in a college with a huge fume extraction plant, with a big sucker-outer in every booth. I had thought it must be fine, being a college, but it still got me
I foolishly imagined I would be able to go down Screwfix this week and buy an 18v rechargeable blown air mask for a 100 quid or thereabouts.. how wrong can you get!

Now is also the wrong time to be buying because it’s a sellers market at the moment. Very Limited stocks with all of the suppliers, even talk of importers paying to airfreight stuff in and anyone who has got stock know they can sell it without having to give huge discounts.

 

[owas]

I'm having a real hard time getting an air pack at my current work place,
Don't need a full set just the air unit and pipe so I can bodge it onto my speedglas,my adflo system got pinched

Heath and safety officer is telling them they need to provide one to every employee regardless of how long theyre welding but the company isn't signing off on any, we're talking a £50 million profit last year company, mental.

 

[Welderpaul]

RPE is only part of the story, the primary control measure needs to be LEV so they need to make sure they are extracting fume at source as far as is practicable.
Air fed helmets or suitable masks in a home workshop environment are certainly better than nothing.
Hopefully getting ours fitted within the next 3 weeks

 

[owas]

Got to sign this today for my imaginary air fed

 

[Brad93]

I’ve been looking at Kemper extractors and 5m arms for a few weeks. So often in the workshop, with all the doors open, and the gap between sheets and cap on the apex of the roof being open, you just can’t clear the smoke when stick welding or repairing a minging old exhaust or casting.

Looks like they are about £2k+ though.
I guess my filters on the adflo would last longer on the other hand.

 

[Welderpaul]

I wonder how long the HSE will leave it until they start paying calls to fabricators. I guess they are allowing a little 'grace' period while people sort themselves out.

HSE guidelines ask for 5-10 air changes per hour in a welding area. The system we are installing gives 15 air changes an hour at least (but more like 20), plus we have a couple of filtercarts getting rid of the worst of the fumes at source and air movers to disperse the weld fog that can hang, plus RPE.
RPE Programme is just about written now, LEV maintainance regimes, amendments to PUWER inspections etc ..things you have to do

 

[Brad93]

I wonder how long the HSE will leave it until they start paying calls to fabricators. I guess they are allowing a little 'grace' period while people sort themselves out.

HSE guidelines ask for 5-10 air changes per hour in a welding area. The system we are installing gives 15 air changes an hour at least (but more like 20), plus we have a couple of filtercarts getting rid of the worst of the fumes at source and air movers to disperse the weld fog that can hang, plus RPE.
RPE Programme is just about written now, LEV maintainance regimes, amendments to PUWER inspections etc ..things you have to do

Has all this occurred since the release of the statement or was it something you had in the pipeline already?

I got to see the LEV maintenance guy come round at Esab. Make a buck doing that! Wasn’t there two hours and I think we was £300 odd quid lighter.