Control Technology for Improvement of Welding Hygiene: Some Preliminary Considerations

摘要

The origin of welding fumes and gases is discussed together with a description of their separate and combined effects of human health. Suggestions are made for avoiding these adverse health effects, primarily through the application of control technology for the specific pollutants Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide and Nitric oxide and Hexavalent Chromium and Nickel, substances which can appear in possibly dangerous concentrations in the welding environment. It is emphasized that although selective technological control of these substances is already possible, several practical examples demonstrate that it is extremely difficult to determine the net hygienic effect of any particular control strategy: e.g. reduction in the level of one substance can be accompanied by increased levels of other substances. (Copyright (c) by The Danish Welding Institute, 1979.)