JUNE - JULY 2022
There is no known safe level of exposure to welding fumes
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Worksafe New Zealand's Clean Air programme is its first targeted intervention on work-related health. The goal is to reduce the risk of respiratory ill-health caused by exposure to airborne contaminants in the workplace
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key part of this programme is to raise awareness of the health risks of silica dust, organic solvents, welding fumes, wood dust, carbon monoxide and agrichemicals and how they can be eliminated or controlled. Worksafe inspectors have been trained on these airborne contaminants and are supporting workplaces to control these risks. Last year WorkSafe issued a helpful guide for PCBUs who are overseeing welding. You can find more information and download the guide here. Worksafe states that “Welding poses a range of hazards to your health. These can be obvious straight away such as electric shock or exposure to cadmium fumes, or they may show up in the long term such as lung and breathing disorders” They go on to say, “A worker is 15 times more likely to die from a work-related disease than from a work-related acute injury.” Health hazards from welding, cutting, and brazing operations can lead to both acute and chronic health conditions such as: • Chronic Respiratory health risks develop gradually into a serious disease 8
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after ongoing exposure to welding fumes. These can include cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, occupational asthma, and welder’s lung. • Acute Respiratory health risks develop soon after the exposure and include acute pneumonia, irritant-induces
asthma, irritated throat, and metal fume fever. • Other health risks from welding include arc-eye which can cause long term damage to the eye, burns, electric shock, heat stress and exhaustion, skin damage and suffocation. If the risk management protocols of elimination, minimization and mitigation
have been followed and risks still remain, Respiratory Protection Equipment (RPE) is one of the last lines of defence. CleanAIR® Ready 2 Weld AerGo® and AerTEC™ OptoMax Welding Kit is the ultimate powered air welding set up.
Standard EN 12941 defines three classes of performance (TH1, TH2 and TH3). The numbers define the level of performance (inward leakage) and the pull strength of the breathing tubes and couplings within the classification. Inward leakage for classification TH1 is maximum 10%, for TH2 maximum
2% and for TH3 maximum 0.2%. AerTEC™ OptoMAX is a top-of-the-line welding helmet, creating a perfect view during welding thanks to world-leading ADF technology from Optrel. Fully automated shade level adjustment for any welding procedure in the 5-13 range. Natural-colour view in the entire protection range and ultra-HD quality in classes 1/1/1/1. Respiratory protection is provided through the CleanAIR® AerGO® PAPR, a slim lined unit which delivers filtered air to the breathing zone. The combination provides the highest level of respiratory protection TH3. The kit is all packed in a free CleanAIR® duffel bag with a complimentary pair of MIG/MAG welding gloves. pH7 represents STS Shigematsu and CleanAIR® in New Zealand, both leaders in the field of respiratory protection. For end-to-end respiratory solutions and more information on the CleanAir® range please contact us – ph7 on 0800 323 223, email enquiries@ph7.co.nz or visit us online
