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Welding fumes: keep the smoke out of your face

Welding fumes: keep the smoke out of your face

Hazard communication 5 min 29 CFR 1926.353 · 29 CFR 1926.354

Welding, Ironwork, Plumbing, HVAC

Why it matters

The smoke coming off a weld is metal and gas you breathe in. Galvanized steel, painted steel, stainless, and tight spaces make it much worse. Some fumes can make you sick that same night, and some cause damage that builds up for years.

The talk

Every welder has seen it. You lean over the bead to see the puddle, and the plume rolls right up into your hood. Outside with a breeze it is not too bad. Inside a pump room, a tank, or a stairwell with no air moving, the smoke just hangs there. Burning through galvanized puts off a white zinc smoke that can leave you with chills and a fever that night. Stainless, painted steel, and old coatings can carry chrome, lead, or cadmium. Those don't make you sick right away. They do their damage over years.

The standard expects you to move the air when fumes build up. In a confined space, welding, cutting, or heating needs general or local exhaust ventilation. A local exhaust hood or fume arm should sit as close to the work as you can get it, and the dirty air has to go outside, away from where fresh air comes in. Never use oxygen from the torch to cool off or to clear the space. Extra oxygen makes things catch fire fast. Work on zinc, lead, cadmium, or chrome in enclosed spaces needs ventilation too, and some of it needs more. Anyone breathing the same air needs the same protection as the welder.

Before you strike an arc on coated metal, find out what the coating is. Some coatings burn hot and some are toxic. Grind or strip it back from the weld area when the job calls for it. Position yourself so the plume rises away from your face, not straight into the hood. Set the fan or fume arm before you start, not after the room fills up. Wear the respirator the job requires, and keep it clean. If you get a headache, chills, nausea, or a metal taste in your mouth, stop, get fresh air, and tell the foreman.

Key points

  1. Welding smoke is metal and gas you breathe in.
  2. Galvanized, stainless, painted, and coated metal make worse fumes.
  3. Welding in a confined space needs mechanical ventilation.
  4. Put the fume arm or hood as close to the work as you can.
  5. Send dirty air outside, away from fresh air intakes.
  6. Never use oxygen to ventilate or cool off.
  7. Workers nearby need the same protection as the welder.
  8. Find out what a coating is before you heat it.

Do this

  • Set up the fan or fume arm before the first bead.
  • Keep your head out of the plume.
  • Strip or grind coatings back from the weld area when required.
  • Wear the respirator the job calls for, and keep it clean.
  • Stop and get fresh air if you feel sick, and tell the foreman.

Do not do this

  • Do not weld in a tank, pit, or small room with no air moving.
  • Do not blow oxygen into a space to clear smoke or cool off.
  • Do not burn through galvanized without ventilation.
  • Do not let the exhaust blow back into the work area or a fresh air intake.
  • Do not shrug off chills or a fever after welding.

Talk about it

  1. What metals and coatings are we cutting or welding on this job?
  2. Where on this job is the air dead, and how will we move it?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

Training aid only. This talk is not legal advice. It does not replace your company's safety program, a competent person, the equipment maker's instructions, or the OSHA standard itself.

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