Welding Fumes....latest

[earthman]

I recently visited a business within a large aircraft hanger style building, there were say a dozen or so welding stations in the middle, each man looked suitably protected, full suit/air fed mask I'm assuming but the other employees working on 'assembly lines' adjacent to them had nothing.
What are the H&S guide lines/rules about open planned work places like this? If one is going to work as a fitter/assembler of parts in such a place, how much of a risk are they from the welding fumes.

 

[Revs1972]

I recently visited a business within a large aircraft hanger style building, there were say a dozen or so welding stations in the middle, each man looked suitably protected, full suit/air fed mask I'm assuming but the other employees working on 'assembly lines' adjacent to them had nothing.
What are the H&S guide lines/rules about open planned work places like this? If one is going to work as a fitter/assembler of parts in such a place, how much of a risk are they from the welding fumes.

I was talking to a guy about this the other day. His line was that the H & S requirements were to rid the fume at source , and that the PAPR was secondary to that.
Made sense to me . Whenever I have been in a workshop for a while, the dreaded black bogies appear, so obviously there are particles in the air that need to be gotten rid of. Now what those particles are, I do not know.

 

[TechnicAl]

I was talking to a guy about this the other day. His line was that the H & S requirements were to rid the fume at source , and that the PAPR was secondary to that.
Made sense to me . Whenever I have been in a workshop for a while, the dreaded black bogies appear, so obviously there are particles in the air that need to be gotten rid of. Now what those particles are, I do not know.

Thats what I believe is correct. It makes sense or as soon as someone removes their helmet they are breathing the crap again. The air also needs sampling so that the amount of fume and the composition is known. Stainless and Hardfacing fumes are more toxic than mild steel.

 

[earthman]

In the case of a large open planned building, isn't there a need for a wall(s)/partition to be built, containing the welding section as such?

 

[TechnicAl]

In the case of a large open planned building, isn't there a need for a wall(s)/partition to be built, containing the welding section as such?

I think it depends on how much fume and if there is extraction......if it helps extraction maybe a wall is essential..........it needs a proper survey