There is no denying that if you don’t take adequate safety precautions, you will end up hurting yourself badly. That’s the nature of welding. It involves electricity, metal, gas, and so many other objects that can hurt real badly. Feel free to visit ProSafety101.com to learn more abut such safety issues.
But that happens to reckless people. As long as you take precautions and abide by safety rules, you are safe. That’s being said, let’s talk about welding hazards and control measures.
Common Welding Hazards
The followings are most common welding hazards that the welders face. These are not all but most common.
Electric Shock
This is the most fatal welding hazards of all. Welding is a job that requires live electrical circuits during the entire welding. You can be directly or indirectly electrically shocked. This fatal accident happens when you work in a damp condition or you wear wet cloths.
Sometimes you need to lie or kneel during the welding, and these are the times when you can get in touch with electricity as well.
Noise Hazards
Any noise rated above the 85 dB(A) is considered to be loud that can potentially damage your hearing. During the welding, the noise level goes above 100 dB(A)! Such loud noise is prolonging in nature! You can imagine the damage, right?
Noise related hazards does not end up impairing your hearing, it has some other sides effects as well like the following:
· Increased heart rate and blood pressure.
· Dizziness, also known as vertigo.
· Ear ringing.
Exposure to UV and IR Radiation
Intense UV light produced during the welding and unless taken precautions, exposure to such bright UV light may result in vision loss. Often this is referred as flush burn injury as well. There are several reasons that can affect the severity of the flush burn during the welding happens like distance, duration, and penetration angle.
Control Measures
There are some other damages that may occur from the welding. I am not going through all of this. Follow the below advice to protect yourself from the harm of welding.
Wear PPE. By PPE, I mean Personal Protective Equipment. That includes welding helmet with side-shields. Helmet alone will protect you from almost all of the damages. In addition, you can wear respirators to protect against fumes and oxides generated from the welding.
Then you should wear fire resistant cloth. In addition to protect you from the heat, they will also protect you from the fire and the harmful radiation.
Conclusion
In this very brief article, I have tried to cover the basics of welding hazards and control measures. If you find this useful, don’t forget to share.
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