Many queries still surround the tasks of burning and welding in industry. The constituents of fume can be particulate or gaseous, derived from welding rods, the metal substrate, its coating, or from the interaction of gases surrounding the arc. Exposure in HM Dockyards is varied due to conditions afloat or in open or confined spaces. Even though the breathing zone concentration can be measured and compared with TLVs the exposure of the individual cannot be reliably assessed in this way. The same applies to brazing tasks. It is shown that even under steady environmental conditions, there is a wide variation in concentration and that surface coatings containing down to 0·3 mg Pb/cm2J produce exposures well in excess of the TLV. Alternative methods of evaluation are available based on epidemiology of lung disorders and morbidity. There is also the method of biological monitoring of blood and urine.
Since problems usually arise in confined spaces there is a need to define the parameters of risk and specify conditions which control exposure to acceptable levels.
Published in: The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
Ann Occup Hyg (1975) 17 (3-4): 295-302.
© Pergamon Press
- T. P. Oliver and
- M. K. B. Molyneux
Office of Naval Health Rosyth,
Institute of Naval Medicine Alverstoke,
Source: The Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 1975