Welding Smoke: Welding Safety Video: Equipment, Tips, & Techniques

Video Transcript

" Hello, my name is Mac and on behalf of expertvillage.com I am going to give you some tips and techniques on welding safety. One of the things that a welder needs to be aware of is that the fumes that come off of the welding arc can sometimes be toxic. A welder needs to be very careful about what he welds on. For instance, welding on old painted steel can pose a problem if the paint was lead based. The smoke will contain vaporized lead and can cause lead poisoning. Inhaling it can be very toxic to a welder. Also welding on some of the newer types of paints chromium paints, chromate paints can also cause toxic fumes. Something that is very important is that a welder should never weld on galvanized steel unless you grind the galvanize off; you can get a poisoning from it called fume fever. What happens is the zinc boils out of the galvanize, comes up into the air as a zinc gas, you inhale it and it can make you feel very sick. It is almost a like a bad case of flu. So be very careful about that. Try to ventilate the fumes away from you or wear the appropriate mask. Welding fumes as a whole are not dreadfully toxic but they can become very concentrated in closed areas. It is best to have a supply of fresh air if you can, fans, blowers etc. Try to get the fumes out of the area, supply fresh air to yourself or wear the appropriate breathing masks under your helmet. There are some that are available to try and to and limit your exposure so that you do not end up making yourself sick. "