Apex Welding Safety Blog
The Law for Welding Fume Has Just Changed!
New Workplace Exposure Standard for Welding Fume
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There is officially a lower Workplace Exposure Standard for Welding Fume in Australia.
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In September 2023, SafeWork Australia voted to lower...
Translas’ On-Gun Fume Extraction ‘Origin Story’ mirrors what’s happening in Australia right now!
Did you know that Translas On-Gun was created to reduce fume exposure below 1mg/m3?
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As you know, the Australian Workplace Exposure Standard for Welding Fume has moved to 1mg/m3.
The Netherland...
How effective are welding helmets with PAPR?
Welding helmets with integrated powered air purifying respirators (PAPR) are established as ‘the most widely used form of respiratory protection amongst welders in Australia and New Zealand’1. Thi...
How can employers protect workers around welders from exposure to welding fume?
Based on a recent survey conducted by AWS, only 10% of Australian and New Zealand workplaces use engineering controls (such as on-gun fume extraction or hooded capture LEV) to remove welding fume from...
Are welders protected against welding fume if they use half mask respirators and keep the roller door open?
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 ...
What should employers and welders do to limit exposure to welding fume?
As an employer, what should I do?
As an employer, you have the primary responsibility to ensure that welders, as far as reasonably practicable, are not exposed to health and safety risks whilst perfo...
Why is a review of the Workplace Exposure Standards for welding fume needed?
Based on a recent survey (June 2023) conducted by AWS, 39% of welders in Australia and New Zealand are still using no form of protection from welding fume and 67% feel that welding fume is not reduced...
What happens if the Australian Exposure Standard for Welding Fume changes?
In 2017, the International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified welding fume as a group 1 carcinogen: the same group as Asbestos and Silica. However, in Australia, the exposure standard for Weld...
BREAKING: New Scientific Study Reveals How Welding Fume Product Controls Really Compare!
There are countless studies that conclude that welding fume is bad for health, yet there seem to be very few that can give us practical guidance on how to effectively control welding fume exposure.
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How Translas holds up in different welding positions!
The ability of on-gun fume extraction to capture welding fume directly at the source, remove it from the environment, and follow the welder as they move is what sets it apart from all other welding fu...
There will be two types of welders reading this article. The first will think this is a joke. That no one could seriously believe that milk would be a suitable shield against a now known carcinogen. T...
With welding fume now confirmed as carcinogenic to humans, many welders and companies are changing their stance on welders’ respiratory protection. But what is the best welding respiratory protectio...