New Welding Fumes Standard

Welding fumes are toxic

Safe Work Australia (SWA) have amended their booklet on Workplace Exposure for Airborne Contaminants to set a new lower exposure standard for welding fumes.

Why has the standard changed?

There is growing evidence that welding fumes are not only harmful but potentially carcinogenic and therefore require tighter controls, and this is what has driven the lower exposure standard.

Welding fumes have long been associated with an innocent sounding condition labelled “metal fume fever”. However, increasingly this exposure is also being linked to cancer of the lungs, kidneys or larynx, stomach ulcers, and nervous system damage.

What is the new welding fumes limit?

Previously SWA set a welding fume exposure limit of 5mg per cubic meter (5mg/m3).

The SWA exposure standard for welding fumes is now 1mg/m3.

What should we do?

This is a significant reduction, and many workplaces will need to:

1. Improve containment of welding fumes at the source,

2. Provide better exhaust ventilation for welding bays,

3. Provide and ensure correct use of respirators for added protection against welding fumes,

4. Conduct air monitoring if there is any doubt about the safety of worker’s health or compliance.