Respiratory Health Effects of Exposure to Welding Fumes

The ability to weld created an industrial "revolution" in the mid 20th century. Metals could be joined faster, cheaper, leaner, and stronger. The welding process is a method for joining pieces of metallic materials when heated to such high temperatures that the pieces merge and unite in pasty condition, often using filler metal or under pressure.Much more than one million workers perform welding as professional workers and many more workers perform the process as a part of their jobs. The equipment is affordable and widely distributed.We know that the welding process produces metal fumes and gases that may be harmful to the operator. The exposure composition is dependent on the welding work piece, the electrode and temperature. The particles formed in the welding process are often "ultra fine size range" (0.01-.10 microns), but they often form chains after the process and before reaching the operators’ respiratory system.There are obvious challenges in the assessment of causality. Health effects can therefore more often be attributed to the effects of exposure from one profession (welding) than from the specific exposures (welding fumes).To assess exposure indirect methods can be used. That is by characterizing type of industry, end product, steel used, application of the end product, time period, training, working conditions in general, other exposures, and other exposed.In Norway, gloves and glasses have in principle always been used. That is because they prevent acute effects.In Norway, before 1970, respiratory protection was in little use. At that time, a growing concern for chronic lung effects, gradually introduced respiratory protection. Appropriate breathing equipment provides significant reduction in corresponding exposure (1:6). The effects of the exposure are depending on the type of smoke or gas, its physical and chemical properties, dose, exposure conditions, and vulnerability for the exposed.Relevant respiratory diseases could be asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metal fever, acute chemical or hypersensitivity pneumonitis, lung edema, infections, emphysema, siderosis, and lung cancer.