When I was younger I had a huge weld job, it was a snapped ripper blade off a dozer, I can't remember if it was 4" or 8" thick, most likely 8" and probably 24"+ wide, (it was a very long time ago) anyway it was veed out, and I pretty much did constant welding at very high amps apart from small breaks to let the blade cool down, I think I went through several 15kg rolls of wire over 2 days, next morning most of the factory workers were off due to red eye, the UV reflected off the metal roof and right through the factory, I was the main welder there, so the only one with a helmet on, and the rest were fitters and machinists, to say that I was not popular would be an understatement! Yes, it doesn't take long to get burnt from the UV from welding, the higher the amps the more intense is the UV output.