Since the American National Standards Institute welding safety standards are updated more frequently than OSHA, they provide additional safety recommendations that may be well worth a look.

It has been estimated that welding processes put 562,000 employees at risk for exposure to chemical and physical hazards. With that figure in mind, safety should be the core issue to any welding operation. In regards to keeping the welding area safe, managers can find a helpful guide in the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) standard (“Safety in Welding, Cutting and Applied Processes”). This standard is the basis for the OSHA welding standard. Of course, the OSHA standard is the law and the ANSI standard is not, but since the ANSI standard is updated much more frequently, welders seeking an extra degree of readiness against possible hazards are encouraged to look to the ANSI standard for a more timely authority on welding safety.

The ANSI standard focuses on several areas of welder site safety. The chief dangers to welders, as the standard identifies them, are fires, explosions, fumes, gases, arc rays, sparks and electric shock. The standard stresses that to prevent mishaps involving any of the above, managers must ensure that both the welders and their supervisors are trained in the safe operation of their equipment and emergency procedures. The ANSI standard furthermore states that safety information, in the form of a label or tag, be affixed to all welding products and equipment.

The chemical fumes created by welding are extremely dangerous to the welder’s health if they are not properly ventilated. This is because of a trait of the welding process to mix chemical gases together in unpredictable combinations. For all the welder knows, the gas that he risks inhaling while he works may be a combination of chemicals whose proportions are unique to his particular welding environment. As a result, the gas that the welding creates cannot be classified. It is therefore imperative that the welding site be properly vented to prevent the welder from breathing the gas. This responsibility is the manager’s. The standard specifies that if the welding site does not have a sufficient amount of natural ventilation, then roof and wall exhaust fans, or similar machinery for ventilating large areas, must be installed. The ANSI goes on to say that if mechanical ventilation are still not enough to ventilate the welding site properly, then the welder must be provided with respiratory equipment.

Severe burns and damage to the eyes are what most people think of when welding injuries are mentioned. To prevent against arc rays, weld sparks and the spatter of molten fragments, protective equipment should be worn. It is upon management to be knowledgeable enough about this equipment to choose them properly. For instance, managers must be familiar with the helmets’ lens shade number, which denotes the strength of the shade in relation to the brightness of the welding operation. This is important in preventing what is known as “welder’s flash”, an eye condition that, in addition to causing great discomfort, can result in swelling, fluid excretion or even temporary blindness.

Protective clothing also needs to be worn in order to minimize the risk of the fabric catching fire from the sparks that the welding process creates. The ANSI standard suggests materials that have proven flame-retarding qualities such as heavier wool and cotton. Lighter materials are firmly discouraged, as are clothes with any sort of pocketing in the front that flaming bits might get lodged in. Sleeves and collars should be kept buttoned.

One of the deadliest risks the welder faces is electric shock. One way to prevent this is for the welder to be properly grounded. Having said that, there is a great deal of confusion over what exactly constitutes proper grounding, and this lack of knowledge often results in a mishap. Welders frequently misuse the term. By calling something “grounded” haphazardly, a worker can feel a false sense of security about an item, when in fact it is not grounded and therefore presents a very real danger to him. Welders can prevent electric shock by wearing dry gloves and protective equipment and by being sure not to stand in water or to touch live electrical parts.

Welding produces all sorts of sparks, slag and hot work surfaces. To prepare for fire hazards, special attention should be paid to the area in which the welding occurs. The standard states that any combustible materials in the intended welding area must be removed. This includes wood, paper, plastic, leaves and brush. If it is impossible to clear the welding area of these materials then the standard suggests moving it. Flame-resistant screens can be used to protect workers and others in the vicinity. To prevent fires from spreading, fire extinguishing equipment and sprinkler systems should be kept operable at all times. Finally, a fire watch, someone who remains on the lookout for sparks and random fires in the welding area, should stay on duty during the welding and for a while afterwards to make sure that late fires don’t spring up from smoldering fragments.

The ANSI standard contains further safety information and requirements on specific types of welding such as resistance welding, laser beam welding and electron beam welding. Overall, the standard is an excellent safety reference. Followed properly, it does much to keep welders out of harm’s way.

Sources: American National Standards Institute
Official web site
http://www.ansi.org/

Following the Standard for Safe Welding
Virginia Sutcliffe
Occupational Hazards
http://www.occupationalhazards.com/default.asp?section=AArchive