Safety Bulletin — Welding Fume
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued a safety bulletin and although not directly associated with lifting equipment, it will affect all LEEA members who have fabrication welding facilities.
To summarise, there is new scientific evidence to suggest that welding fume can cause lung cancer and possibly kidney cancer and has now been reclassified as carcinogenic.
With immediate effect, there is a strengthening of HSE’s enforcement expectation for all welding fume, including mild steel; because general ventilation does not achieve the necessary control.
Control of the cancer risk will require suitable engineering controls for all welding activities indoors – for example: local exhaust ventilation LEV. Extraction will also control exposure to manganese, which is present in mild steel welding fume, which can cause neurological effects similar to Parkinson’s disease. For further details visit the HSE website.
