Arc eye, or welder’s flash, is an inflammation of the cornea, caused by the UV rays from the arc during welding. The symptoms, which appear a few hours to several hours after exposure, can include mild to severe pain, red watery eyes, sensitivity to light and the feeling of a foreign object in the eye. Typically, arc eye is temporary, but repeated or prolonged exposure can lead to permanent eye injury.
“Welding fumes are a complex mixture of fine condensed metallic particulate and other solid particles. While welding fume is not a gas, some gases such as ozone, NOx and carbon monoxide are also generated during the welding process,” says Keith Daley, environmental systems manager at The Lincoln Electric Company of Canada.
Welding helmets protect you from UV radiation, particles, debris, hot slag and chemical burns. It’s important that you wear the right lens shade for the work you are carrying out. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and gradually adjust the lens filter until you have good visibility that does not irritate your eyes.
Welding fumes inhaled through the years may cause serious medical complications. Those noises that didn't seem so loud actually were, potentially destroying your ability to hear. The parts that didn't seem so heavy may trigger shoulder problems. The constant kneeling can lead to knee troubles.
Welding operators should always wear an approved respirator unless exposure assessments are below applicable exposure limits.
Report concerns to a supervisor so your exposure to substances of the welding fumes can be checked.
Electric shock is one of the most serious and immediate risks facing a welder. Electric shock occurs when welders touch two metal objects that have a voltage between them, inserting themselves into the electrical circuit.
The most common type of electric shock is secondary voltage shock from an arc welding circuit, which ranges from 20 to 100 volts.
An initiative underway in Denver, Colorado may provide a blueprint for other U.S. cities who want to improve safety on their roadways for “vulnerable” road users - bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists. Denver Vision Zero is a five-year plan crafted by city agencies and State and community partners that includes improved street design, safe speeds, a culture of safety, and improved data.
The National Safety Council (NSC) is accepting nominations for five of its prestigious safety awards and designations: the Distinguished Service to Safety Award, the Marion Martin Award, the Community Advancement Award, the Teen Safety Award and Rising Stars of Safety. Winners will have advanced safety in the workplace, in the community or on the road, and will have demonstrated improvement and the effectiveness of their actions, as well as the impact their actions have had to reduce injuries and deaths.
OSHA has cited Dana Railcare – based in Wilmington, Delaware – for confined space hazards after an employee fatality in Pittston, Pennsylvania. The railcar service provider faces $551,226 in proposed penalties. An employee was asphyxiated in May 2019, while servicing a rail car containing crude oil sludge. OSHA cited the company for four willful and three serious violations for failing to protect employees from the hazards of entering permit-required confined spaces, and inadequate respiratory protection procedures.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…unless you're an airline pilot, flying over a home bedazzled with holiday laser lighting that's pointing up at the sky. If that happens, you and your passengers could be in serious danger, because you could be distracted or temporarily blinded by the residential laser-light display. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which says it receives reports of such incidents each year from pilots.