Do not watch the welding arc
Eye safety 5 min 29 CFR 1926.102
Why it matters
A welding arc can burn eyes even if you are not the one welding. The welder wears the helmet. People nearby use the protection the site gives them, or they look away and get behind a screen. Flash can feel like sand later, not always right away. Use the shade the site assigned.
The talk
A welding arc is bright enough to burn eyes from nearby, not only from inside the helmet. You do not have to be the one holding the rod. If you can see the arc, the arc can reach your eyes. The welder wears the helmet. The helmet stays down for the strike and for the bead. People who are not welding wear the protection the site provides, or they look away and get behind a screen. Standing off to the side is not the same as being out of the light. The light bounces off shiny metal, off a deck, and off a pale wall. A screen is there to block that path. Eye and face protection for this work sits under 1926.102.
Do not watch a strike just for a second. That is what people say right before they get flashed. You want to see if the rod lit, or you want to see how the joint sits, and you look with bare eyes. Do not. Flash feels like sand in the eyes later, not always right away. You can finish the shift, drive home, and then the pain shows up. By then the arc is over and the eyes are the problem. If your eyes feel gritty after welding was going on near you, tell the foreman and get medical help. Do not rub them and hope it was only dust from the floor.
Use the shade the site assigned for that process. Do not pick a lens because the weld is easier to see, and do not trade helmets until you know the shade in that helmet is the one assigned for the work. A lens so dark you cannot work is a problem you take to the foreman. A lighter lens you were not assigned is not yours to choose. Screens protect the rest of the crew: laborers, inspectors, the person walking the aisle. Set the screen before the first strike, not after somebody yells. If the screen has a gap, close it. If nearby people have no protection and no screen, do not strike.
Key points
- A welding arc can burn eyes even from nearby.
- The welder wears the helmet, down for the strike and the bead.
- People nearby wear the protection the site provides, or they look away and get behind a screen.
- Do not watch a strike just for a second.
- Flash can feel like sand in the eyes later, not always right away.
- Use the shade the site assigned for that process.
- Set screens before the first strike so the rest of the crew is covered.
Do this
- Keep the welding helmet down for the strike and the bead.
- Give people nearby the protection the site provides, or put them behind a screen.
- Use the shade the site assigned for that process.
- Set the screen before the first strike and close the gaps.
- Tell the foreman and get medical help if your eyes feel like sand after a nearby arc.
Do not do this
- Do not watch a strike just for a second with bare eyes.
- Do not stand where you can see the arc and call that off to the side.
- Do not pick a lighter shade because the weld is easier to see.
- Do not strike if nearby people have no protection and no screen.
- Do not rub your eyes and hope a gritty feeling is only floor dust.
Talk about it
- Where will the arc be today, and who nearby could see it?
- Which shade did the site assign for this process, and is it the lens in the helmet?
- Where do the screens go before the first strike?
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