Posted By Taileuk Can anyone tell what safety precautions are required for various types of welding / cutting: TIG, MIG, Plasma cutting

Posted By Frank Cooper You may get some advice from people such as BOC or Air Products etc who actually supply the gases and equipment etc. I seem to remember some manufacturers guidance being available. It's worth a try. Frank Cooper

Posted By Peter Hebblethwaite Good morning. I SPENT TWO YEARS IN THIS ENVIRONMENT AS A HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICER. I HOPE I CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE. 1)Look at the work environment. Natural ventilation, lighting, heating. Making this as comfortable as reasonably practicable can remove stressors. 2) Removal of welding/ plasma cutting fumes. = Engineering Controls. If non bench environment, where fixed venting systems can be fitted, consider portable ventilation ie mobile local exhaust ventilation (some units can be around £1000 mark. Do you have a budget?. 3) Appropriate ppe/ rpe. Rpe e.g Air fed battery power units (no air line as trip hazard can be appropriate. With these, batteries need to be charged and a filter register for appropriate changes should be kept. Consult with your ppe/rpe supplier. They can even provide training as part of supply package. Training and education for welders and fitters in correct use, maintenance and storage of kit, increases their level of protection.Apprpriate overalls / gloves etc.Regular avaialability, especially if the work environment is on day /night and week end working. RPE is also not cheap. e.g. £200- 250 for the Racal Air fed. Suppliers of regular contract rpe/ ppe are usually happy to talk discounts. 4) Safe access and egress to the job. Appropriate working platforms with guard rails (at over 1 mtr). Once welding helmet in place, vision and perception are changed. 5)Segregation / enclosure. Close off working areas to non operational staff. Welding curtains in place to reduce chance of arc- eye e.g. to passing employee or visitor. In conclusion, look at the environment, the welding/ cutting operative and the safety of all other persons who may be affected by that activity. Any further information call me on 0121 607 4096. Happy to be of assistance.

Posted By Jane Blunt What country are you in? The legal requirements differ somewhat, depending where you are. I have some useful bookmarks to free guidance on the web from various countries if you are interested. For the UK, HSG 139 is probably only marginally relevant to you, because it deals mainly with oxyacetylene welding. The processes you mention are all electric, so HSG 204 is more relevant, 0 7176 18137, £3-50. There is also a publication about electrical safety in arc welding, HSG 118, 0 7176 07046. For the fume aspects you should look at EH 54 and EH 55. (0 7176 05701, 0 1188 54399) A word of warning - these two publications are out of date as regards the exposure limits, but do give very valuable advice about the levels of fume that might be produced, and how to control fume. Consumable manufacturers should supply you with a data sheet giving some indication of typical fume levels and the typical composition. If you are welding aluminium you may have considerable ozone emission, and you will need to take this into account when planning fume removal. The ozone is generated some distance from the arc. You need to consider noise, which may be a problem for certain types of plasma equipment. Noise is also likely to be a problem when doing things like grinding, slag removal, etc. Do not forget vibration - some tools that are commonly used by welders have quite high levels of vibration. You need to select the correct type of eye protection for welding - the shade numbers you need vary with the process, material, etc. I, too have worked for some nine years in a welding environment, with all types of processes. I have just finished the manuscript of a book on the subject. Jane