Opening a roller door is not enough when it comes to welding fume
It’s extremely important for workplaces to understand that wind, a cross-breeze, or opening a roller door, should only be used for general comfort, not as an engineering control measure for welding fume. While this can help disperse welding fume in combination with other controls, it must never be used as a control by itself.
In short, opening a roller door is not enough: a welding fume product control or combination of suitable welding fume control methods must be introduced.
Half-mask respirators have their limitations
A half mask respirator has a Required Minimum Protection Factor (RMPF) of 10 compared to a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) with a RMPF of 50 (a recent study showed the Effective Protection Factor of PAPR systems to be 2,600 – at least 52 times better performance than the RMPF of 50 indicates) [1].
However, this is only if the half-mask respirator is worn and fits correctly. Any issue with the seal and the welder’s respiratory protection is compromised. Almost all welding fume particles are smaller than 1 micron. The average human hair has an average thickness of about 150 microns. A single human hair can therefore hold the half-mask respirator far enough off the face to allow welding fume particles to leak past. Even stubble can have a significant impact.
Upgrading to Powered Air
As an extremely physical occupation, it’s often difficult to wear a half-mask respirator correctly as a welder, especially when wearing a welding helmet in combination. A 2020 study determined that “the performance of a half mask respirator decreased when worn in methods outside of recommendations; however, there was no significant decrease in the performance of PAPR under any method of wear” [2].
Therefore, the authors recommended a PAPR for work where it is difficult to guarantee that a half-mask respirator is being worn correctly. Unlike most disposable respirators, a PAPR equipped with the correct filters can offer protection against ozone and other volatile substances that can be generated during welding.
Unlike many industries, welders have PPE specifically designed for their occupation to protect them from welding fume and other welding hazards – a welding helmet with a powered air purifying respirator can offer the welder protection from eye (IR, visible, UV), face, respiratory, head, and hearing hazards.
View Welding Helmets with Powered Air Purifying Respirators here
Read our White Paper on the Effectiveness of Welding Fume Product Controls Scientific Study
Read a Key Fact Summary of the Scientific Study here
References:
[1] 2023 Peter Knott, Georgia Csorba, Dustin Bennett, Ryan Kift. Welding fume; a comparison study of industry used control methods. Safety Journal.
[2] S. Sekoguchi, T. Shirasaka, H. Ando, K. Ikegami, and A. Ogami, Evaluation of the performance of replaceable particulate and powered air-purifying respirators considering non-recommended wearing methods, Department of Work Systems and Health, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Fukuoka, Tech. Rep., 2020.
