Welding can be dangerous if proper safety precautions are not followed. Hazards include burns, electric shock, exposure to radiation and harmful fumes, and fire. Employers must identify all potential hazards, provide appropriate personal protective equipment to workers, and ensure equipment is well-maintained and safe to use to minimize risks. Common hazards include exposure to ultraviolet light which can cause eye injuries, electric shock from live wires, burns from sparks and hot metal, inhalation of toxic fumes, and fire from heat and sparks. Proper training, safety equipment, and risk assessment are needed to safely conduct welding activities.

1. The Hazards of Welding
Welding Inspections and Safety in a Nutshell
Welding is the process of permanently fusing two or more materials, usually metals, together
using heat, pressure, or both. When heated, the material melts and can be bonded with or

2. without additional filler materials. Thermoplastics, for example, can be welded together to make
permanent joins using a sufficient heat source.
Welding can use a variety of energy sources, including gas flames, electric arcs, electric
resistance, lasers, electron beams, friction, molten metal baths, and ultrasound.
Fusion welding, forge welding, friction welding, braze welding, brazing, soldering, and explosion
welding are all techniques of joining. Welding is a potentially dangerous activity that must be
approached with attention to avoid electrocution, fire and explosion, burns, electric shock, visual
damage, inhalation of harmful gases and fumes, and exposure to extreme ultraviolet radiation.
A person running a business or undertaking has the primary responsibility to ensure, to the
greatest extent possible, that workers and other people are not exposed to health and safety
risks associated with the business or undertaking. A person managing a business or activity that
engages in welding activities shall eliminate or, if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise the
risks to the greatest extent reasonably practical.
These people should be aware of the hazards within the vicinity. Also, they are the ones
responsible for the safety of every person involved in the process. One way to ensure people’s
safety is by providing them with a complete set of personal protective equipment (PPE) and by
assuring that all items to be used in welding are well-maintained and safe to use.
Flashback arrestor testing is one of the most important steps when it comes to welding safety. It
is the process by which the flashback arrestors are checked for any malfunctions that can cause
unwanted circumstances.
Recognizing the Hazards
The first stage in risk management for welding operations is to identify all dangers that have the
potential to cause harm.
Welding and other related processes can have similar hazards, and you can use the same
technique to detect them. Welding and related procedures, for example, emit ultraviolet and
infrared radiation, which can cause burns, cancer, and blindness.

3. Potential hazards in the workplace can be identified in many different ways and these are:
- A process of walk-through assessment of the workplace, materials, and all the
equipment to be used, also familiarizing yourself by talking to people about how their
work is being carried out.
- Carefully reading all safety data sheets, product labels, and manufacturer’s manual
instructions.
- Reviewing the previous information about incident reports
Workplace Hazards
Exposure
- Exposure standards are based on individual substance airborne concentrations that,
according to current knowledge, should not cause serious health consequences or
unreasonable discomfort to nearly all employees.
Watching over airborne contaminant levels
- The sampling of workplace atmospheres to determine workers' possible inhalation
exposure to dangerous compounds is known as air monitoring.
Radiation
- Radiation is energy that travels in the form of electromagnetic waves or subatomic
particles. Electric arc and laser welding both produce ultraviolet, visible, and infrared
radiation. The potential effect of radiation on the body is determined by the kind,
intensity, distance from the source, and duration of exposure. Welding exposure to high
UV and infrared light can induce eye problems and skin burns. When exposed to the
eyes, it causes 'arc eye' or 'welders flash,' a painful inflammation of the cornea. The
cornea can heal itself in one to two days; but, if the cornea becomes infected, some
vision may be lost.
Electric Shock
- Electric shock can cause severe burns or even death. Direct contact with the electrode,
live parts, the workpiece, or contact with a device such as an unearthed cable or tool can

4. result in electric shock or electrocution. Moisture and high humidity might increase the
danger of electric shock.
Fire Outbreak
- Welding produces heat, flames, and sparks, all of which can ignite. Sources of ignition,
when paired with sources of fuel and oxygen, pose a considerable risk of fire and
explosion.
- You must manage the health and safety risks connected with an ignition source in a
hazardous environment. This includes detecting all sources of ignition, such as other
welding processes, such as grinding, which can also generate heat, flames, and sparks.
Continuous Exposure to Heat and Possible Burns
- Burn is one of the most prevalent welding injuries. A welding arc can reach temperatures
of 6000 degrees Celsius. The powerful ultraviolet and infrared radiation can be
hazardous to both the welder and anybody else in the vicinity. Burns from sparks and
metal pieces are common on hands and other exposed flesh, but they can also occur in
the eyes. The effects of this level of heat are similar to severe sunburn.
Noise Pollution
- High noise levels can result in irreversible hearing loss. Welding equipment can produce
different amounts and frequencies of noise, exposing employees to noise levels that
exceed the exposure threshold. Plasma arc welding, in particular, produces significantly
more noise than other welding activities, with noise levels ranging from 98 to 112 dB. (A).
Welding hazards
The health risks connected with welding, cutting, and brazing operations will vary depending on
the composition and intensity of exposure to welding fumes and gases, as well as ultraviolet
(UV) radiation. Respiratory irritation, metal fume fever, lung cancer, skin cancer, nervous system
damage, asphyxiation, and other health concerns are all possible.
Burns, eye damage, electrical shock, scrapes, and toe and finger injuries are all risks involved
with these processes. Fires and explosions are also possible.

5. Many of these hazards can be avoided by using elimination and substitution controls (for
example, eliminating the need for welding or using a lower fume-generating welding process),
engineering controls (for example, local exhaust ventilation), work practises (for example,
removing coatings before welding and worker training), and personal protective equipment
(PPE) (e.g., respiratory protection).
Risk assessments and occupational hygiene air sampling can be used to detect health and
safety risks and worker exposures, as well as to help identify the necessary management
measures.