Designing, Constructing and Installing a Local Exhaust Ventilation System to Minimize Welders' Exposure to Welding Fumes

Welder’s exposure to welding fumes can cause
occupational diseases. The current study sought to examine exposure to welding fumes among
welders who work in the repair shop of Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex and design a local
exhaust ventilation system to control exposure to welding fumes.
Materials & Methods: This applied analytical study was conducted in the summer of 2016
among welders working in the repair shop of Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex. The study
comprised three phases; in the first one, welders’ exposure to welding fumes was assessed at the
beginning of the study. After that, a local exhaust ventilation system was designed and installed
in the aforementioned repair shop. In the final stage, welders’ exposure to welding fumes was
assessed again after installation of the ventilation system. The procedure recommended by
NIOSH (method number 7300) was used for individual sampling of welders.
Results: Based on the obtained findings, before installing the ventilation system, welding
technicians were exposed to 0.3 mg/m3 of copper fumes and 0.04 mg/m3 of chromium fumes.
Journeyman welders were also exposed to 2.16 mg/m3 of manganese fumes, while stellar
welders were exposed to 6.9 mg/m3 of iron fumes. In the light of these measurements, a local
exhaust ventilation system was designed and installed. Subsequently, measurement of exposure
to welding fumes showed a significant reduction. That is, welding technicians were exposed to
0.17 mg/m3 and 0.015 mg/m3 of copper and chromium fumes respectively. Additionally,
journeyman welders were exposed to 0.86 mg/m3 of manganese fumes, whereas stellar welders
were exposed to 4.3 mg/m3 of iron fumes.
Conclusions: A comparison of standard limits of exposure to welding fumes and the results
obtained from measurements in sampling stations before and after the installation of the local
exhaust ventilation system reveals that this controlling measure was very effective in the repair
shop of Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex