Summary Statement
Describes the dangers that welding fumes can cause when welding outside, depending on wind and other conditions.
It is well known that fumes generated from arc welding operations expose
welders and those around them to serious respiratory hazards. This is
pretty easy to see when a welding job is done in a shop or other "indoor"
setting. If there is not adequate ventilation, the whole area quickly
fills up with the familiar bluish gray fumes.
However, it is much harder to know when "outdoor" welders on
construction sites are being exposed to fume hazards. Pile Driver welders
work in a wider variety of weather extremes and often in confined spaces
where a fixed ventilation system just isn't feasible.
For example, a Pile Driver welding shut piling to a falsework system out
in the Fort Point Channel may appear to have no exposure risk at all.
Most people will assume the prevailing winds will blow the fumes away.
But the welder will often be down wind of the arc, and the sheeting wall
may create a "wind eddy" when the fumes collect and settle around
the welder.
‘Welders should . . . use existing wind conditions to their advantage
when possible'
In that situation, the welder should have a suitable face respirator which
can be used as needed.
The installation
of strut-and-wale bracing systems in coffer dams or on the Central Artery
"open cuts" also creates hazardous outdoor fume environments.
Typically, the space between the bottom of an excavation and the waler
will be between 18 and 36 inches. Additionally, the waler itself may be
36 inches wide, and this creates a pocket with very little air flow. Pile
Drivers performing overhead welding beneath the walers are very quickly
exposed to high levels of fumes.
In this situation, the absence of any wind at all means that a portable
blower/extractor may be the best way to remove the fumes. Once again,
each welder should be provided with a suitable personal respirator.
Lastly, but not to be overlooked, welders should avoid working "close
in"" to the arc and use existing wind conditions to their advantage
when possible. These precautions, along with appropriate personal protective
equipment (PPE), can make a huge difference in fume exposure over the
course of a career.
Borrus is with Massachusetts
Pile Drivers Local Union 56
