In the workshop there are a number of hazards specific to welding or cutting. In addition, there may be other hazards of a more general nature present in the fabrication environment.

All potential hazards need to be identified, measured (where appropriate) and assessed. Remedial measures must be put in place wherever necessary.

Although Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should not be issued as the primary method of reducing a hazard, it should be issued to all personnel if beneficial.

Employers and employees should be made fully aware of the dangers that can arise and take all reasonable care to ensure the health and safety of all.

Most burns suffered by welders and others in the welding environment are avoidable. They are often caused by carelessness or failure to take the necessary precautions.

Burns may occur to the skin or, potentially more seriously, to the eyes.

The source of the hazard may be:

• hot metal (a welded component or part of the welding equipment such as a MIG gun nozzle)
• arc rays
• flames
• chemicals
• liquid gases

Taking the necessary safety precautions is largely common sense, although accidents may happen from time to time.

A significant number of deaths occur each year involving people working in confined spaces. 

Asphyxiation is a major cause of those deaths, so extra vigilance is crucial.

In any confined workspace, restricted ventilation will cause the build up of a potentially hazardous atmosphere.

An example of confined spaces would be a storage tank.  It may also contain, or have contained, toxic, flammable or hazardous substance, vapour or gas.

It is clear that working in such spaces requires a greater than normal awareness of potential hazards and increased attention to safe working practices.

Welders working in enclosed spaces must be properly trained, equipped and supervised.

Additional protective and monitoring equipment (over and above that normally necessary) may be required when welding in a confined space.

It is recommended that a formal 'safe system of work' should be followed at all times.

Touching 'live' electrical components, including the electrode and the workpiece, can result in a burn injury or, more seriously, electric shock.

Electric shock can kill, either by direct action on the body or by a resultant fall if working at height.

Most electrical accidents are avoidable and only occur as a result of carelessness, lack of training, poor workmanship or faulty equipment.

Welders must never become complacent about the hazards associated with electric arc welding.

Safe working practices should be followed at ALL times.

Gaseous fume consists of either one or more specific pollutant gases mixed in the air around the welding area. As it is present in gaseous form it can easily enter the lungs.

Whether or not the fume is likely to cause damage depends largely on precisely what the gas or gases are, on the concentration inhaled and on the length of time of exposure to the specific pollutant(s).

The gases of most concern in the welding environment are ozone, oxides of nitrogen (NO and NO₂), carbon monoxide, dichloro-acetyl-chloride and possibly phosgene.

If fluids are not taken to replace those lost by sweating, heat exhaustion can occur.

Extreme cases of this condition can be fatal.

Precautions should be taken and work regimes adjusted to ensure that every worker's core body temperature is maintained within its required operating range.

In arc welding and cutting, the magnetic fields produced may have an effect on the human body.

Electromagnetic, that is to say electrical and magnetic fields (both natural and electrically produced), exist throughout our environment and we are all exposed to them constantly.

Electric fields are produced by electric charges and measured in volts per metre (V/m) whilst magnetic fields are produced by the motion of electric charges and measured in amperes per metre (A/m).

Whether or not these fields are harmful has been a matter of debate for many years and remains largely unresolved.

The human ear is sensitive and delicate and can detect very small changes in sound pressure.  Loud noise, whether continuous or intermittent, can cause permanent damage to the ear and result in hearing impairment.

Many countries have legislation in place to protect workers at risk of being exposed to dangerously loud noise.  Loud noise is usually deemed to be 85dB(A) and above.

In welding and allied industries noise levels are likely to exceed these, and it is often difficult to engineer a reduction in noise.

Hearing protection, in the form of ear plugs and ear defenders, is available from BOC.  We recommend they are worn in noisy areas if workers are to prevent themselves suffering noise-induced industrial deafness.