Welding - Metal fume fever

[NC_Steve]

I have been researching the safety of welding galvanized steel and all formal references I have found state that the effects of metal fume fever only last a few days, however I have also found informal references (forums) that state you will carry the zinc oxide and other metals from welding around in your body/lungs for the rest of your life. So I am wondering do the formal references have an agenda or is welding safe with no long term health affects?

[Rambunctious]

Originally Posted by NC_Steve

I have been researching the safety of welding galvanized steel and all formal references I have found state that the effects of metal fume fever only last a few days, however I have also found informal references (forums) that state you will carry the zinc oxide and other metals from welding around in your body/lungs for the rest of your life. So I am wondering do the formal references have an agenda or is welding safe with no long term health affects?

Back in the late 60s I did a lot of galvanised welding and we would drink a pint of milk, full cream in those days, first up in the morning, to put a lining on the stomach.
Don't know about the lungs but I am now 63 and suffer from industrial asthma probably from all the dust in the Building Industry but possibly from the welding.
I also did a lot of phoscopper oxy soldering of copper pipes and let's be realistic, anything toxic inhaled is not good for you.

[poppa smurf]

been welding and working with steel for years.....industrial asthma is a good description

not good for you!

[XD 351 Ute]

I've always wondered about the grinding materials / debris from using grinders too.
Not only do you get the dust from the wheels or discs, but you also get whatever it is that you're grinding away as well.

If that object or material is covered in nasties, then look out.
I always try to use a face mask for continuous jobs, the little ones I've never worried about, and taken care to have good ventilation.

It's bloody hard to educate the younger tradesmen or apprentices about this though, they're 10 foot tall and bullet proof!

Ed

[ebxr8240]

Hmm This worries me !!!

[Pub247]

lucky i dotn have much to do with galv but i cop my fair share of fumes being a welder. powdercoating and anodised smell and taste nasty with proper ventilation setups you could avoid most fumes.... but seriously wearing a respirator all day along with everything else would drive me nuts

[Mickxr8]

Bad bad stuff to weld in an enclosed space , I got crook for weeks after doing it and my brother was put into hospital once due to the fumes ,
dunno about long term effects but who knows ?,
If you have to weld the crap at least have a damn big fan circulating air...

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by poppa smurf

been welding and working with steel for years.....industrial asthma is a good description

not good for you!

That's what I call the long term effects

The gal one I call the gal flu if you cop it you will know what i mean I have done many a days welding gal and every time a few hours later I feel like I have the flu

One you need to be really careful is stainless with the pickling agent ( think that's what it is called been out of the trade a few years now ) the fumes from that will knock you out if you don't take care

Jason

[Pub247]

Originally Posted by Jason[98.EL]

That's what I call the long term effects

The gal one I call the gal flu if you cop it you will know what i mean I have done many a days welding gal and every time a few hours later I feel like I have the flu

One you need to be really careful is stainless with the pickling agent ( think that's what it is called been out of the trade a few years now ) the fumes from that will knock you out if you don't take care

Jason

Thats because pickling paste is hydrofluoric and nitric acid... personally pickling isnt necessary on every job and there are other ways these days to acheive the same finish

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by Jason[98.EL]

That's what I call the long term effects

The gal one I call the gal flu if you cop it you will know what i mean I have done many a days welding gal and every time a few hours later I feel like I have the flu

One you need to be really careful is stainless with the pickling agent ( think that's what it is called been out of the trade a few years now ) the fumes from that will knock you out if you don't take care

Jason

yep!.....I have spent a lot of years building "pool fencing" in between my main business......you know the type, spear and arch or simply arch, all Gal then I send it to a mate who powder coats

I also repair a lot of "stuff"....hard face and rebuild as well steel dust from sharpening

no ventilation in my workshop and I am bent straight over the jig and machinery for hours.....

I have something that is very similar to lung disease, a lot of mucus, it is not life threatening ATM but I am still only a young 55 so I guess this is what will eventually kill me

rusty steel gives off a lot of fume as well which will leave a horrible taste in your mouth, cant be good for the lungs, stainless is bad

not many ways to avoid the fume unless one wears a respirator......been there, done that.....dont want to do it again

large extraction fan would be good I think or even a large "normal" shed fan blowing at a tangent to the weld fume would be better than nothing

word of advice to the youngsters.....look after your eyes and lungs......

you only get one set and a stray red hot chip of slag or a lump of steel in the eye doesn't do your vision any good.....if in doubt just ask me!

wear your safety glasses when chipping the slag and try not to breathe the fume!......easy said but not easily done but at least try!!!

[pottery beige]

welding galv sucks.. if you dont have proper extraction try and keep 'your head out of the smoke'.. use fans vent place out...
once fluxs, paint, coatings start getting fried off it gets all mc yuck....
some flux cored stainless and other consumables are really cool carcinogens....

[ebxr8240]

Hasn't effected me MUCH ??? Lol...

[poppa smurf]

^ hah! love it!

[XR227]

Been Welding Gal + Zinc on and off for years, It ain't good for you.
Drinking milk is one thing you can do as previously stated.

We have adjustable mobile floor fans at work that we just pick up and put in
front of the job your welding, and have them facing away from your job so
the smoke is sucked in the back of the fan and blows out the front. Works extremely well on the high speed fan setting.

We did some extensions on a salt water barge last year that had extremely
toxic paint on it, So the boss had to buy fully enclosed welding helmets. They
have a back pack with a fan and filters.
They ain't cheap either, well over a grand each.

But generally we use the floor fan to suck the smoke away from you, Don't
forget to point it towards some one you don't like.

[efi65]

stainless has to be one of the worst ones too weld, can bring on heart pulpations, can make you sterile and limp, bad shakes,dizzyness.. ally seems much of the same.

[loosey]

As an apprentice I used to tig galv (sand the galv off then weld) even these days we get the odd galv job and a few zinc tool boxes. I've never gotten sick from welding it, not sure if it's because i drink lots of milk or not.. I do have a blow over type respirator but I only really use it when I'm migging ally. I find the fan facing the opposite direction (as mentioned above) works the is most convenient and works well.

[2011G6E]

Sorry but nothing "puts a lining in your stomach"...you drink milk or whatever, and it's immediately diluted, digested, and passed on by the hydrochloric acid and digestive processes in the stomach just like anything else you drink, faster than food because it's only a liquid. There's not a lot you can do except wear a face mask of some kind.

Another danger is spray paint, especially if it has toluene in it like two pack and a lot of model paints. I've heard of quite young guys getting chest pains and heart muscle damage from too much of that stuff, and it's cumulative as well.

[nstg8a]

ive got 'industrial' asthma, from working first in a brass and alloy foundry, then 3-4 years in a fettling shop doing a lot of grinding and welding on train components.
i gave it up when i was going through a ventolin inhaler in two days, and hospitalised 6 times in a month.
since getting out ive never been in that industry again, and i havent any more than a slight wheeze after exercise.

while at the brass foundy we were given as much milk as we could drink, to help ward of the ill effects of breathing in the nasties.

dont know if it works or not, i was drinking 4-5 pints a shift lol. saved buying smoko.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by loosey

As an apprentice I used to tig galv (sand the galv off then weld) even these days we get the odd galv job and a few zinc tool boxes. I've never gotten sick from welding it, not sure if it's because i drink lots of milk or not.. I do have a blow over type respirator but I only really use it when I'm migging ally. I find the fan facing the opposite direction (as mentioned above) works the is most convenient and works well.

nah! mate, it's not the stomach that is the problem in later years.....it's your lungs

drink as much milk as you like......it wont help you!

take the advice from those that have gone before you and protect yourself now!

[loosey]

I don't drink milk to line my stomach, i drink it to gain/ maintain my weight.

We've got exhaust fans and plenty of ventilation at work. I only usually do a couple of hours welding a week so probably not as exposed as many of you. Ally is the one to watch out for.

[Pis-ton broke]

Yeah I,ve seen guys spewing up they guts because of gal piosoning. Some how I don,t think a pint of milk is going to stop the toxians from going through your veins, drinking milk is a wife tale. I,m a boilermaker/welder and aviod gal jobs at all costs, it is are the pits of the trade, theres no doult about it.

A fan may not be engouh in a workshop. You need to get the poisonous fumes outside the building. A negative presure (sucktion fan system) exhaust fan that is vented to the outside is the workshop, is the proper gear. If you don,t have this gear the boss doesn,t give a ****** about you.

Workshop air quality is a hot subject in a fabrication shop anyway , because if it was monitored you would see a lot a workshops with below the standard. And that would just open up the biggest can of worms. Some of the places that i,ve worked and the very shonky practices is amazing. And some workcover officers should be ashamed.

Don,t know what some are saying about tig stainless and fumes ,cause it makes no fumes.

[ebxr8240]

Been using TIG alot lattly..
Now I find thoriated electrodes are radio active !!

[Pub247]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

Been using TIG alot lattly..
Now I find thoriated electrodes are radio active !!

Haha didnt you know? as long as you don't overheat them or breathe in dust when sharpening you should be right but judging by your earlier picture radiation already got to you.

Have to agree about tigging stainless never had an issue no fumes no toxins as long as you keep everythign clean. Same with alloy i tig alloy everyday usually and never have an issue. Worst i get is feeling tired maybe a bit weak which i put down to the argon when hot and stuffy.

I think smokign doesnt help though but ill blame welding for any lung problems i develop

[Cheese3]

My old man is a boiler maker and he swears by Milk and as a fitter myself I do the odd gal welding jobs, my first gal job as a apprentice I got sick as a dog as I didnt know of gal poisoning in 1st year. I drink alot of milk before and after now. If its an old wifes tale or not or placebo effect, who knows. But I haven't been sick since but I also protect myself alot better since my first experiance with gal welding.

But what ever job you do, prevention and safety is the best way to protect yourself. It doesn't just apply to gal welding