In today’s metal working industries, welding is one of the most essential production method due to its tremendous advantages. However, the welding process generates a lot of toxic fume, smoke and dust particles in production halls.
This causes a dusty environment for the workers and the machineries. Poor air-quality in welding-shops causes serious illnesses for the workers in the long term. On the other hand, the dust particles in sub-micron size which is arising from the welding process, cause break-down or failures in today’s high-technology machinery equipment.
As a result, it is very essential to invest in the right air filtration solution to meet the challenges regarding welding smoke and fumes, in order to provide an efficient and non-stop production flow in your welding shops.
There are different hazardous substances in different welding methods, depending on the weld workpiece. Different welding methods brings different risks and hazards for the indoor air-quality.
The most common types of welding used are:
- The electric arc welding of metal using flux-coated electrode (so called manual metal arc welding – MMAW)
- The electric arc welding of metal using a gas-shielded wire electrode (so-called gas metal arc welding – GMAW)
As a rough guide the following 5 combinations account for 60 to 70 per cent of all welding activities;
- MMAW / mild steel,
- MMAW / stainless steel,
- GMAW / mild steel,
- GMAW / stainless steel and,
- GMAW / aluminum.
In GMAW, carbon dioxide-shielding results in much higher fume formation rates than argon or helium gas-shielding. Oxygen and carbon dioxide additions to the inert shield gas stabilize the arc, but usually result in increased fume formation rates.
Welding of ferrous materials:
Most welding methods involves ferrous materials. The most abundant constituent of ferrous alloy welding fume is iron oxide. Long, continued exposure to such welding fume may lead to the deposition of iron oxide particles in the lungs.
When present in sufficient quantities, the deposition is demonstrable on chest X-ray films, as numerous fine discrete opacities (nodulation and stripping) in the lung tissue. The technical name for this is siderosis (or so-called pulmonary siderosis or Welder’s disease), which is a form of pneumoconiosis. Siderosis tends to clear up when the exposure to metallic particles and to welding fume-smoke is stopped.
Welding of stainless steel parts or high alloyed steel parts:
Chrome-hexavalent and Chrome-three compounds are created in the air. The Chrome compounds in the air causes nasal septum perforation, asthma and even lungs cancer in long-term inhalation.
Epidemiological studies and animal test have confirmed certain amount of chromium (VI) compounds as occupational carcinogens.
Therefore, it is mandatory to use W3 certified filter units acc. to EN ISO 15012 standard, for welding applications where stainless steel parts are welded.
How do you avoid all these risks and hazards at your production plant?
VANTERM has the solution with its wide range of products for your challenging demands. More about related VANTERM solutions, please contact us or our distributor near you. We will be happy to advise you regarding our extraction systems starting from source capturing up to dilution systems.
VANTERM: Passion for excellence in Clean Air Solutions.
