Occupational Exposure to Fumes and Gases during Different Arc Welding Processes
Abstract
The fumes and gases releasing from welding processes may seriously affect welders’ health compared to other hazardous agents arising from welding like, noise, and ultraviolet radiation. The present study was aimed to measure the exposure levels of welders to fumes and gases at seven of arc welding processes in a melting company. This descriptive-cross sectional study was carried out on several types of arc welding including TIG, GMAW, PAW ،SAW, and MMAW in a melting industry. In order to measure the concentrations of welding fumes, NIOSH 7300 method was applied. Direct reading instruments were used for sampling of welding gases. The median concentration of all studied metals among different types of welding process were significantly different (P<0.02). The median concentration of some released gases among different types of welding process were not significantly different (P >0.05). The average exposure levels for metals of Cu (from TIG), Fe (from PAW and MMAW processes), Mn (from GMAW, MMAW processes), and Cr (from PAW and MMAW processes) were higher than Occupational Exposure Limit-Time Weighted Average. The finding showed that the nitrogen dioxide average concentrations and ozone gases were higher than the other gases. The welder’s exposure levels to toxic metals and gases in some stations exceeded from recommended levels; so, it is necessary to apply the appropriate preventive methods like engineering control measures to effectively protect welders’ health.
1. Mulyana 1. Mulyana M, Adi NPP, Kurniawidjaja ML, Wijaya A, Yusuf I. Lung Function Status of Workers Exposed to Welding Fume: A Preliminary Study. The Indonesian Biomedical Journal. 2016; 8(1):37-42.
2. Rahmani A, Golbabaei F, Dehghan SF, Mazlomi A, Akbarzadeh A. Assessment of the effect of welding fumes on welders’ cognitive failure and health-related quality of life. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 2016; 22(3):426-432.
3. MacLeod JS, Harris MA, Tjepkema M, Peters PA, Demers PA. Cancer Risks among Welders and Occasional Welders in a National Population-Based Cohort Study: Canadian Census Health and Environmental Cohort. Safety and Health at Work. 2017; 8(3):258-266.
4. Sriram K, Lin GX, Jefferson AM, Stone S, Afshari A, Keane MJ, McKinney W, Jackson M, Chen BT, Schwegler-Berry D. Modifying welding process parameters can reduce the neurotoxic potential of manganese-containing welding fumes. Toxicology. 2015; 328:168-178.
5. Amza G, Dobrotă D, Groza Dragomir M, Paise S, Apostolescu Z. Research on environmental impact assessment of flame oxyacetylene welding processes. Metalurgija. 2013; 52(4):457-460.
6. Keane M, Siert A, Stone S, Chen BT. Profiling stainless steel welding processes to reduce fume emissions, hexavalent chromium emissions and operating costs in the workplace. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. 2016; 13(1):1-8.
7. Sajedifar; J, Kokabi; AH, Dehghan; SF, Azam; K, Golbabaei; F. Evaluation of operational parameters role on the emission of fumes. Industrial Health. 2018; 56(3):198-206.
8. Keane M, Siert A, Stone S, Chen B, Slaven J, Cumpston A, Antonini J. Selecting Processes to Minimize Hexavalent Chromium from Stainless Steel Welding: Eight welding processes/shielding gas combinations were assessed for generation of hexavalent chromium in stainless steel welding fumes. Welding Journal. 2012; 91(9):241s-246s.
9. Prajapati P, Badheka VJ, Mehta KP. Hybridization of filler wire in multi-pass gas metal arc welding of SA516 Gr70 carbon steel. Materials and Manufacturing Processes. 2018; 33(3):315-322.
10. Karadeniz E, Ozsarac U, Yildiz C. The effect of process parameters on penetration in gas metal arc welding processes. Materials & Design. 2007; 28(2):649-656.
11. Cheng F, Zhang S, Di X, Wang D, Cao J. Arc Characteristic and Metal Transfer of Pulse Current Horizontal Flux-Cored Arc Welding. Transactions of Tianjin University. 2017; 23(2):101-109.
12. Egerland S, Colegrove P, Williams S. Investigation of low current gas tungsten arc welding using split anode calorimetry. Science and Technology of Welding and Joining. 2017;22(1):71-78.
13. Sailender M, Reddy GCM, Venkatesh S. Parametric Design for Purged Submerged Arc Welding on Strength of Low Carbon Steel. European Journal of Engineering Research and Science. 2016; 1(3):1-6.
14. Liu Z, Wu C, Cui S, Luo Z: Correlation of keyhole exit deviation distance and weld pool thermo-state in plasma arc welding process. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. 2017; 104:310-317.
15. Ascenço CG, Gomes JF, Cosme NM, Miranda R. Analysis of welding fumes: A short note on the comparison between two sampling techniques. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry. 2005; 87(3):345-349.
16. Jenkins N, Eagar T. Chemical analysis of welding fume particles. Welding Journal-New York. 2005; 84(6):87.
17. Al-Shamma YM, Dinana FM, Dosh BA. Physiological study of the effect of employment in old brick factories on the lung function of their employees. Journal of Environmental Studies. 2009; 1:39-46.
18. El-Zein M, Malo J, Infante-Rivard C, Gautrin D. Prevalence and association of welding related systemic and respiratory symptoms in welders. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2003; 60(9):655-661.
19. Yarmohammadi H, Hamidvand E, Abdollahzadeh D, Sohrabi Y, Poursadeghiyan M, Biglari H, Ebrahimi MH. Measuring concentration of welding fumes in respiratory zones of welders: An ergo-toxicological approach. Research Journal of Medical Sciences. 2016; 10(3):111-115.
20. Pires I, Quintino L, Miranda R, Gomes J. Fume emissions during gas metal arc welding. Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry. 2006; 88(3):385-394.
21. Chen H-L, Chung S-H, Jhuo M-L. Efficiency of different respiratory protective devices for removal of particulate and gaseous reactive oxygen species from welding fumes. Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health. 2013; 68(2):101-106.
22. Pesch B, Haerting J, Ranft U, Klimpel A, Oelschlägel B, Schill W. Occupational risk factors for renal cell carcinoma: agent-specific results from a case-control study in Germany. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2000; 29(6):1014-1024.
23. Cheng T-J, Kao H-P, Chan C-C, Chang WP. Effects of ozone on DNA single-strand breaks and 8-oxoguanine formation in A549 cells. Environmental Research. 2003; 93(3):279-284.
24. Karimi Zeverdegani S, Mehrifar Y, Faraji M, Rismanchian M. Occupational exposure to welding gases during three welding processes and risk assessment by SQRCA method. Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology. 2017; 6(3):144-149.
25. Popović O, Prokić-Cvetković R, Burzić M, Lukić U, Beljić B. Fume and gas emission during arc welding: Hazards and recommendation. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2014; 37:509-516.
26. Kiesgen de_Richter R, Ming T, Caillol S. Fighting global warming by photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 using giant photocatalytic reactors. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2013; 19:82-106.
27. Ayyagari VN, Januszkiewicz A, Nath J. Pro-inflammatory responses of human bronchial epithelial cells to acute nitrogen dioxide exposure. Toxicology. 2004; 197(2):148-163.
28. Papi A, Amadesi S, Chitano P, Boschetto P, Ciaccia A, Geppetti P, Fabbri LM, Mapp CE. Bronchopulmonary inflammation and airway smooth muscle hyperresponsiveness induced by nitrogen dioxide in guinea pigs. European Journal of Pharmacology. 1999; 374(2):241-247.
29. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). ELEMENTS by ICP 7300 (Nitric/Perchloric Acid Ashing). Method 7300, Issue 3. In: NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM). In., 5th Edition edn: 4th ed. Atlanta (GA): NIOSH; 2003.
30. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Chromium, hexavalent. Method 7600, issue 2. In: NIOSH manual of analytical methods. . In.: 4th ed. Atlanta (GA): NIOSH; 1994.
31. Group of Writers. Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL). Tehran: Environmental and Occupational Health Center,Ministry of Health and Medical Education; 2016.
32. F Golbabaei, M Mahdizade, M Gheasedin, K Mohajer, Eskandari D. Risk assessment of welders` exposure to total fume in an automobile industry. Journal of Health and Safety at Work. 2012; 1(1):9-18.
33. Wang D, Du X, Zheng W. Alteration of saliva and serum concentrations of manganese, copper, zinc, cadmium and lead among career welders. Toxicology Letters. 2008; 176 (1):40-47.
34. Li GJ, Zhang L-L, Lu L, Wu P, Zheng W. Occupational exposure to welding fume among welders: alterations of manganese, iron, zinc, copper, and lead in body fluids and the oxidative stress status. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine/American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2004; 46(3):241-248.
35. Sinczuk-Walczak H, Jakubowski M, Matczak W. Neurological and neurophysiological examinations of workers occupationally exposed to manganese. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health. 2001; 14(4):329-337.
36. Sriram K, Lin GX, Jefferson AM, Roberts JR, Wirth O, Hayashi Y, Krajnak KM, Soukup JM, Ghio AJ, Reynolds SH. Mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of Parkinson's disease-linked proteins contribute to neurotoxicity of manganese-containing welding fumes. The FASEB Journal. 2010; 24(12):4989-5002.
37. Keane MJ, Siert A, Chen BT, Stone SG. Profiling mild steel welding processes to reduce fume emissions and costs in the workplace. Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 2014; 58(4):403-412.
38. Persoons R, Arnoux D, Monssu T, Culié O, Roche G, Duffaud B, Chalaye D, Maitre A. Determinants of occupational exposure to metals by gas metal arc welding and risk management measures: A biomonitoring study. Toxicology letters. 2014; 231(2):135-141.
39. Schoonover T, Conroy L, Lacey S, Plavka J. Personal exposure to metal fume, NO2, and O3 among production welders and non-welders. Industrial Health. 2011; 49(1):63-72.
40. Morfeld P, Noll B, Büchte S, Derwall R, Schenk V, Bicker H, Lenaerts H, Schrader N, Dahmann D. Effect of dust exposure and nitrogen oxides on lung function parameters of German coalminers: a longitudinal study applying GEE regression 1974–1998. International Archives of Occupational AND Environmental Health. 2010; 83(4):357-371.
41. Spiegel-Ciobanu VE. Exposure to nitrogen oxides (NO/NO2) in welding. Welding in the World. 2009; 7(53):12-19.
42. Liu H, Wu Y, Chen H. Production of ozone and reactive oxygen species after welding. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 2007; 53(4):513-518.
43. Golbabaei F, Hassani H, Ghahri A, Mirghani S, Arefian S, Khadem M, Hosseini M, Dinari B.Risk Assessment of Exposure to Gases Released by Welding Processes in Iranian Natural Gas Transmission Pipelines Industry. International Journal of Occupational Hygiene. 2015;4(1):6-9.
44. Halpern P, Raskin Y, Sorkine P, Oganezov A. Exposure to extremely high concentrations of carbon dioxide: a clinical description of a mass casualty incident. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2004; 43(2):196-199.
45. Yarahmadi R, Farshad A, Esrafily A, Soleimani-Alyar S. The utilization of Non-Thermal Plasma technology in carbon monoxide removal using propane gas. Iran Occupational Health. 2018; 15(4):50-61.
2. Rahmani A, Golbabaei F, Dehghan SF, Mazlomi A, Akbarzadeh A. Assessment of the effect of welding fumes on welders’ cognitive failure and health-related quality of life. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 2016; 22(3):426-432.
3. MacLeod JS, Harris MA, Tjepkema M, Peters PA, Demers PA. Cancer Risks among Welders and Occasional Welders in a National Population-Based Cohort Study: Canadian Census Health and Environmental Cohort. Safety and Health at Work. 2017; 8(3):258-266.
4. Sriram K, Lin GX, Jefferson AM, Stone S, Afshari A, Keane MJ, McKinney W, Jackson M, Chen BT, Schwegler-Berry D. Modifying welding process parameters can reduce the neurotoxic potential of manganese-containing welding fumes. Toxicology. 2015; 328:168-178.
5. Amza G, Dobrotă D, Groza Dragomir M, Paise S, Apostolescu Z. Research on environmental impact assessment of flame oxyacetylene welding processes. Metalurgija. 2013; 52(4):457-460.
6. Keane M, Siert A, Stone S, Chen BT. Profiling stainless steel welding processes to reduce fume emissions, hexavalent chromium emissions and operating costs in the workplace. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. 2016; 13(1):1-8.
7. Sajedifar; J, Kokabi; AH, Dehghan; SF, Azam; K, Golbabaei; F. Evaluation of operational parameters role on the emission of fumes. Industrial Health. 2018; 56(3):198-206.
8. Keane M, Siert A, Stone S, Chen B, Slaven J, Cumpston A, Antonini J. Selecting Processes to Minimize Hexavalent Chromium from Stainless Steel Welding: Eight welding processes/shielding gas combinations were assessed for generation of hexavalent chromium in stainless steel welding fumes. Welding Journal. 2012; 91(9):241s-246s.
9. Prajapati P, Badheka VJ, Mehta KP. Hybridization of filler wire in multi-pass gas metal arc welding of SA516 Gr70 carbon steel. Materials and Manufacturing Processes. 2018; 33(3):315-322.
10. Karadeniz E, Ozsarac U, Yildiz C. The effect of process parameters on penetration in gas metal arc welding processes. Materials & Design. 2007; 28(2):649-656.
11. Cheng F, Zhang S, Di X, Wang D, Cao J. Arc Characteristic and Metal Transfer of Pulse Current Horizontal Flux-Cored Arc Welding. Transactions of Tianjin University. 2017; 23(2):101-109.
12. Egerland S, Colegrove P, Williams S. Investigation of low current gas tungsten arc welding using split anode calorimetry. Science and Technology of Welding and Joining. 2017;22(1):71-78.
13. Sailender M, Reddy GCM, Venkatesh S. Parametric Design for Purged Submerged Arc Welding on Strength of Low Carbon Steel. European Journal of Engineering Research and Science. 2016; 1(3):1-6.
14. Liu Z, Wu C, Cui S, Luo Z: Correlation of keyhole exit deviation distance and weld pool thermo-state in plasma arc welding process. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. 2017; 104:310-317.
15. Ascenço CG, Gomes JF, Cosme NM, Miranda R. Analysis of welding fumes: A short note on the comparison between two sampling techniques. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry. 2005; 87(3):345-349.
16. Jenkins N, Eagar T. Chemical analysis of welding fume particles. Welding Journal-New York. 2005; 84(6):87.
17. Al-Shamma YM, Dinana FM, Dosh BA. Physiological study of the effect of employment in old brick factories on the lung function of their employees. Journal of Environmental Studies. 2009; 1:39-46.
18. El-Zein M, Malo J, Infante-Rivard C, Gautrin D. Prevalence and association of welding related systemic and respiratory symptoms in welders. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2003; 60(9):655-661.
19. Yarmohammadi H, Hamidvand E, Abdollahzadeh D, Sohrabi Y, Poursadeghiyan M, Biglari H, Ebrahimi MH. Measuring concentration of welding fumes in respiratory zones of welders: An ergo-toxicological approach. Research Journal of Medical Sciences. 2016; 10(3):111-115.
20. Pires I, Quintino L, Miranda R, Gomes J. Fume emissions during gas metal arc welding. Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry. 2006; 88(3):385-394.
21. Chen H-L, Chung S-H, Jhuo M-L. Efficiency of different respiratory protective devices for removal of particulate and gaseous reactive oxygen species from welding fumes. Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health. 2013; 68(2):101-106.
22. Pesch B, Haerting J, Ranft U, Klimpel A, Oelschlägel B, Schill W. Occupational risk factors for renal cell carcinoma: agent-specific results from a case-control study in Germany. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2000; 29(6):1014-1024.
23. Cheng T-J, Kao H-P, Chan C-C, Chang WP. Effects of ozone on DNA single-strand breaks and 8-oxoguanine formation in A549 cells. Environmental Research. 2003; 93(3):279-284.
24. Karimi Zeverdegani S, Mehrifar Y, Faraji M, Rismanchian M. Occupational exposure to welding gases during three welding processes and risk assessment by SQRCA method. Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology. 2017; 6(3):144-149.
25. Popović O, Prokić-Cvetković R, Burzić M, Lukić U, Beljić B. Fume and gas emission during arc welding: Hazards and recommendation. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2014; 37:509-516.
26. Kiesgen de_Richter R, Ming T, Caillol S. Fighting global warming by photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 using giant photocatalytic reactors. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2013; 19:82-106.
27. Ayyagari VN, Januszkiewicz A, Nath J. Pro-inflammatory responses of human bronchial epithelial cells to acute nitrogen dioxide exposure. Toxicology. 2004; 197(2):148-163.
28. Papi A, Amadesi S, Chitano P, Boschetto P, Ciaccia A, Geppetti P, Fabbri LM, Mapp CE. Bronchopulmonary inflammation and airway smooth muscle hyperresponsiveness induced by nitrogen dioxide in guinea pigs. European Journal of Pharmacology. 1999; 374(2):241-247.
29. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). ELEMENTS by ICP 7300 (Nitric/Perchloric Acid Ashing). Method 7300, Issue 3. In: NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM). In., 5th Edition edn: 4th ed. Atlanta (GA): NIOSH; 2003.
30. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Chromium, hexavalent. Method 7600, issue 2. In: NIOSH manual of analytical methods. . In.: 4th ed. Atlanta (GA): NIOSH; 1994.
31. Group of Writers. Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL). Tehran: Environmental and Occupational Health Center,Ministry of Health and Medical Education; 2016.
32. F Golbabaei, M Mahdizade, M Gheasedin, K Mohajer, Eskandari D. Risk assessment of welders` exposure to total fume in an automobile industry. Journal of Health and Safety at Work. 2012; 1(1):9-18.
33. Wang D, Du X, Zheng W. Alteration of saliva and serum concentrations of manganese, copper, zinc, cadmium and lead among career welders. Toxicology Letters. 2008; 176 (1):40-47.
34. Li GJ, Zhang L-L, Lu L, Wu P, Zheng W. Occupational exposure to welding fume among welders: alterations of manganese, iron, zinc, copper, and lead in body fluids and the oxidative stress status. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine/American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2004; 46(3):241-248.
35. Sinczuk-Walczak H, Jakubowski M, Matczak W. Neurological and neurophysiological examinations of workers occupationally exposed to manganese. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health. 2001; 14(4):329-337.
36. Sriram K, Lin GX, Jefferson AM, Roberts JR, Wirth O, Hayashi Y, Krajnak KM, Soukup JM, Ghio AJ, Reynolds SH. Mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of Parkinson's disease-linked proteins contribute to neurotoxicity of manganese-containing welding fumes. The FASEB Journal. 2010; 24(12):4989-5002.
37. Keane MJ, Siert A, Chen BT, Stone SG. Profiling mild steel welding processes to reduce fume emissions and costs in the workplace. Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 2014; 58(4):403-412.
38. Persoons R, Arnoux D, Monssu T, Culié O, Roche G, Duffaud B, Chalaye D, Maitre A. Determinants of occupational exposure to metals by gas metal arc welding and risk management measures: A biomonitoring study. Toxicology letters. 2014; 231(2):135-141.
39. Schoonover T, Conroy L, Lacey S, Plavka J. Personal exposure to metal fume, NO2, and O3 among production welders and non-welders. Industrial Health. 2011; 49(1):63-72.
40. Morfeld P, Noll B, Büchte S, Derwall R, Schenk V, Bicker H, Lenaerts H, Schrader N, Dahmann D. Effect of dust exposure and nitrogen oxides on lung function parameters of German coalminers: a longitudinal study applying GEE regression 1974–1998. International Archives of Occupational AND Environmental Health. 2010; 83(4):357-371.
41. Spiegel-Ciobanu VE. Exposure to nitrogen oxides (NO/NO2) in welding. Welding in the World. 2009; 7(53):12-19.
42. Liu H, Wu Y, Chen H. Production of ozone and reactive oxygen species after welding. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 2007; 53(4):513-518.
43. Golbabaei F, Hassani H, Ghahri A, Mirghani S, Arefian S, Khadem M, Hosseini M, Dinari B.Risk Assessment of Exposure to Gases Released by Welding Processes in Iranian Natural Gas Transmission Pipelines Industry. International Journal of Occupational Hygiene. 2015;4(1):6-9.
44. Halpern P, Raskin Y, Sorkine P, Oganezov A. Exposure to extremely high concentrations of carbon dioxide: a clinical description of a mass casualty incident. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2004; 43(2):196-199.
45. Yarahmadi R, Farshad A, Esrafily A, Soleimani-Alyar S. The utilization of Non-Thermal Plasma technology in carbon monoxide removal using propane gas. Iran Occupational Health. 2018; 15(4):50-61.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 11 No 2 (2019) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Published | 2019-08-11 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Welding Processes Occupational Exposure Metal Fume Melting Company | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Farhang Dehghan S, Mehrifar Y. Occupational Exposure to Fumes and Gases during Different Arc Welding Processes. Int J Occup Hyg. 2019;11(2):136-145.
