Slide 3 of 20
Notes:
The health of workers in many industries is at risk through exposure to fume from a wide range of welding and allied processes. In common with many other countries, the UK has long used a limit value of 5 mg m-3 for welding fume of moderate toxicity, such as that produced by the welding and cutting of mild steel and aluminium. Compliance testing for welding fume containing more hazardous substances is generally carried out by measuring the welder's exposure to individual components of the fume, and comparing the measured concentrations with the relevant limit values, but this process usually means carrying out a lot of expensive analysis. Therefore HSE has for many years advocated an alternative approach that requires only relatively inexpensive gravimetric measurement of welding fume. This method, which is published in HSE Guidance Note EH 54, involves applying a control limit based on the chemical composition of the fume.
