Occupational Health & Safety: Welding can be one of the most dangerous industrial professions, but it doesn't have to be. With the right knowledge, policies, and safety equipment, a welder can be well protected from personal injury or property damage.
It's not always easy, but professional welders and those who weld as a hobby should be familiar with the risks they are facing and should take every possible precaution. Below, read more about the fire safety issues associated with welding, as well as some ways to reduce the risk.
2 comments:
These fire safety rules for welding seem to be very common sense. However, these are topics that some welders don't cover or forget every time they weld. My cousin just got a degree in welding and she says that mistakes happen all the time. The only bad thing is that welding can be very serious even if something minor goes wrong. Putting lots of heat to metal is a dangerous hobby. I remember the first time I started welding I was always started my the sparks created by the shock against the two metals. It took me awhile to get used to just being near the machine and once I was felt good about what I was doing I ended up having a pair of pants with a bunch of baby holes in them. Welding is an enjoyable job, but I don't think I could do that for the rest of my life.
Going off of what Hannah said, I believe that welders, like every other sort of trade person, occasionally forget (or always forget) important, however minor, safety precautions. A plumber may slip up and be treated to a soaking, a janitor may leave ammonia cleaner open in an unventilated storage closet, and a rigger may stack pig iron in a place that directly blocks an emergency exit. However, I took special interest in the paragraph regarding heat exhaustion, and the dangers that can pose to welders. Just as welders can tire rapidly and dangerously in areas of high heat, theatrical professionals, especially technical employees, can tire after working long hours of very physical work, often in high-risk environments. This adds extra danger to an already less-than ideal situation. For example, a non-union friend of mine has worked multiple 30+ hour shifts as over hire, often to great physical detriment. I feel that this is a topic that should be addressed more in the future, and look forward to seeing more discourse on this topic.
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