The HSE's announcement in February brought with it some major changes to the welding industry, in particular mild steel.
As of February 2019, the Health and Safety executive changed the enforcement expectation for all welding fume, including mild steel welding fumes, due to research that shows general ventilation is not good enough to offset the risk posed as by all welding fumes to be carcinogenic.
It has been known for a long time that welding fumes pose a danger to human health including many types of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released scientific research linking the exposure to mild steel welding fumes to lung cancer and possibly kidney cancer. Manganese is also found in mild steel welding fumes which can cause neurological effects such as Parkinson’s to people regularly exposed to these fumes.
The HSE requires all persons involved in mild steel welding to have sufficient LEV (Local Exhaust Ventilation) extraction in place for all indoor welding activities.
To read more about the current requirements of the HSE, please take a look on their website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/mild-steel-welding-fume.htm.
There will be guidlines published by the HSE later in the year, we will look at those guidelines in detail as soon as the become available.
Nederman have long offered LEV systems and extraction products to help protect people, planet and production. We work with businesses of all sizes to offer the ideal welding extraction solution and have developed a range of products to suit all different welding requirements, from fully integrated extraction systems, to portable extraction units, to on torch extraction solutions.
See our Welding and Thermal Cutting page for more details about our products and services and get in touch using the instant chat at the top of the page with any questions. We look forward to
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