Welding is one of the most common tasks in the building trades. How concerned should construction workers be over welding fumes?

“Welding rod fumes have been a known health hazard for years,” said Dr. Michael Harbut, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wayne State University. “Welding rod disease is real. But people panic. I’ve had guys in here for who think they’re sick or that they have Parkinson’s, but they don’t have the symptoms.”

In 2003, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published what it called “the single most comprehensive review of scientific literature on health effects associated with welding.” The article, ‘Health Effects of Welding,’ noted that past investigations have found bronchitis, airway irritation, and other respiratory illnesses in large numbers of welders.

“However, critical differences between the studies and a shortage of dose/response data make it difficult to compare results and confidently link given exposures with given effects,” NIOSH said. The group has identified the research that’s necessary to fill in those gaps, but those studies haven’t been performed.

NIOSH said an estimated 400,000 men and women are employed in welding and related occupations in the U.S. “Some studies suggest that occupational exposures to welding fumes may pose the risk of serious respiratory, neurological, and reproductive effects,” NIOSH said. “However, the available data generally are too limited to offer conclusive answers.”

Still, NIOSH said welders “may also experience a variety of chronic respiratory problems, including bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, emphysema, pneumoconiosis (which refers to dust-related diseases), decreased lung capacity (and) silicosis.”

One leading medical author on the subject, Barry S. Levy of Tufts University, who is immediate past president of the American Public Health Association, said manganese burned in the welding process “enters the body primarily via inhalation, can damage the nervous system and respiratory tract, as well as have other adverse effects. Among the neurologic effects is an irreversible Parkinsonian-like syndrome. An estimated 500,000 to 1.5 million people in the United States have Parkinson’s disease, and physicians need to consider manganese exposure in its differential diagnosis.”

The safety research arm of the AFL-CIO Building Trades Department, the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR), said the level of fume hazards depend on a number of variables, including: the welding method (such as MIG, TIG, or stick); the types of metals the welding rod is made of; the use of filler metals and base metals (such as mild steel and stainless steel); paints and other coatings on the metals being welded, and the use of proper ventilation.

The CPWR offered the following advice to welders, although there are few specifics on which metallic composition of welding rods are safer than others:

• Your employer must train you about the risks and show you material safety data sheets about any of the chemicals involved in welding, if you ask.
• OSHA says you must remove all paint and solvents before welding or torch cutting. Make sure all residues are removed.
• Use the safest welding method for the job. Stick welding makes much less fume than flux core welding.
• Use welding rods that produce a low fume – 90 percent of the fume can come from the rod. Welding guns that extract fumes can capture 95% of the fume.
• In a confined space, follow all the OSHA confined-space rules – like air monitoring, not storing torches in the space, and ventilation.
• Use local-exhaust ventilation to remove fumes and gases at their source in still air. Keep the exhaust hood opening 4-6 inches from the fume source.
• Use air blowers to blow fumes away from you when you are outdoors and it’s windy.
• Keep your face far from the welding plume.
• If the ventilation is not good, use a respirator. If respirators are used, OSHA says your employer must have a full respiratory protection program. This means proper selection and fitting of respirators, medical screening to be sure a worker can wear a respirator, and worker training.

The CPWR also offered this nugget: “OSHA has limits for exposure to metals, gases, and total fumes during welding, but these limits may not protect you enough, because they are out of date.”