Welding Fumes

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I've seen the issue of fumes come up in a few posts. It's something I've never really thought about - being an amateur weekend stick welder with no training. It's never occurred to me to use a mask when welding.So which fumes are the worst and what are the effects?Scott
Reply:Lead and Zinc (from galvanized steel) are probably the two that are most dangerous becasue you will come into contact with most frequently.  Lead used to be used as a sealant (among other things) becasue it could be hammered into cracks and stuff.  It also did not decay easily.  Mistakenly welding/melting it can release lead gasses that can quickly cause lead poisoning (and potentially death).  Chrome can also be a problem if you inhale or ingest it.  Certian variants of chrome are bad while others are not...so, without knowledge of what you are dealing with, I always avoid grinding or welding chrome.  That's just what I have come across on a regular basis.  If you look a few posts back on welding galvanized material, you will see a posting about a guy who died just recently doing this...so, it can be serious even if the effects dont seem immediately life threatening.  There is some more recent info that has come out about the long-term exposure to welding gasses, but I haven't read all of it yet.  I do know that long-term exposure to some heavy metals can cause a parkinsons-type disease that is perminant and becomes worse with time.  But, as a hobbiest, prolonged exposure is not your main concern.Last edited by smithboy; 01-22-2006 at 07:45 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Hi Smithboy. Thanks for the reply.Yeah, I read the thread about that guy who died. It was one of the things that made me think about fumes. He was, of course, doing something pretty complicated.I rarely weld anything galvanised - I tend to get things galvanised after I've welded them. I've always suspected fumes from gal weren't too good given galvanising operations have all sorts of problems with environmental authorities. I didn't realise chrome was a problem, though.You're right that as a hobbyist, I don't get exposed to alot of fumes, but I guess things build up in the body.I've got an open sided shed, which is good for ventilation, and sometimes I do stuff outside when it's not too sunny.Scott
Reply:........................IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:That's one reason for having a nice stick welder.  You can run a fan straight at the weld and not have to worry about blowing away the shielding gas.  I have made myself good and sick from zinc fumes ONCE.  Unless I have a complete lapse of good judgement, I intend to never let it happen again.  The funny thing is that both zinc and chrome are good for you in certian compounds...but, very, very bad in other compounds or when absorbed through the lungs.  This is the same for many elements/molecules, I guess I should not be surprised.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I didn't realise chrome was a problem, though.
Reply:Thanks guys.I hadn't thought of a fan, Smithboy. A pretty obvious solution. We have lots of issues over here with lead based paint in old houses. In many of the older suburbs, the soil in the gardens around those old houses is contaminated because of people sanding and painting the exterior of the houses over the years.
Reply:I doubt if there's any more around but if you wanted to see something pretty you needed to see lead work done in telephone company central office vaults.In the sixties we could see the work they'd done in the fifties and early sixties with the lead sheathed cable and lead closures.  Anyone who loves form and function enhanced with metal would go off on it.  What was amazing to me was all the work was done with pot lead.  That's lead that's heated up outside to a molten state and then applied with pads in the vault.When I started in the industry we still used lead a lot for closures and in some instances, cables.  The first welding I ever did was with an acetylene torch soldering lead spice closures.  That was in my early twenties.Thankfully by the time I had children we weren't working with the lead anymore as the industry was aware of the hazards it presented.  It wasn't too tough on adults but it's heck on children, smaller more susceptible to it's poison.I've decided it's all about individual physical traits when everything is considered on the fume's effect.  I worked lead as a young man and it hasn't seemed to make me slow of thought most days.  And I can personally tell you one of the old wive's tales about it aren't true.  There's been no erectile disfunctions around here that I've been made aware of.  (When I took a welding class in college the instructor told us how he'd went impotent for a year because he welded galvanized and got lead poisoning.)I smoked three to four packs of Chesterfield Kings for many many years.  I quite cold turkey and haven't had any lung issues that we know about.  I also used to be exposed to a lot of silica dust in the telephone industry because we used it as a drying agent to remove the moisture in a manhole before we opened a closure.And I still weld galvanized pipe.  I did a bunch of it yesterday as a matter of fact.  Inch and a half galvanized pipe handrail on a set of stairs all built in place to attempt to match another set of handrails that had been there probably since the twenties or thirties.I've tried to figure out how come I've been exposed to all this and am still operating on twelve of eight cylinders while I've seen people drop around me who haven't been exposed to hardly anything.  The only answers I can come up with is I've been blessed with an immunity system that's pretty hardy or more likely I breathe a little different than most folks.  By that I mean I seem to breath more through my nose when welding galvanized and I seem to do a lot of holding of my breath.Now if I was a young man getting into welding I'd take this welding fume stuff real serious.  Especially the stuff that we get on our clothes and take home to our family.  It's almost like my dad or myself being able to roll in poison oak or ivy without any symptoms of irritation.  But my mother could touch the laundry and almost have to go to the hospital for allergic reactions.  So if you're working around stuff that COULD pose a hazard to your family you owe being extra careful for their sakes.  Lead is a good example of that.  Lead isn't bad when it's left alone.  But like asbestos it becomes a hazard when it's disturbed and becomes airborne and gets in the lungs.I know what it's like to be consumed by the project or process and completely oblivious to unimportant stuff like money or health.  But just because I've been there doesn't mean I recommend anyone else do it.Most of this stuff we're dealing with doesn't knock you down immediately.  It takes it's time and gets you later.  Or as in the case of lead exposure it turns your children into a lot slower thinkers and less healthy individuals than they were meant to be.And you there's this thing like I mentioned in the beginning of this epistle.  We never know where you stand in the scale of susceptibility to these hazards.  If you're like me and you never were exposed to it then you'll live longer everything being equal.  If you're like some other people I've known your life is going to be considerably shorter and the end isn't anything you'd wish off on anyone.There's a lot to be said for getting old and being in good health. Not just the obvious like the look of awe in some young guy's face as he tries to duplicate a physical act you just accomplished with little effort.  But stuff like walking your daughter down the ailse or having a grand daughter ask for a playhouse like you made her aunt has to go into the mix also.  And you'll never know it unless you make a concious effort to do so.life is good