Being a welder is dangerous work. You’re dealing with high heat, heavy light exposure, radiation, fumes, and melted metal. In short, being a welder comes with quite a few different risks. However, injury prevention begins with acknowledging what those injuries are. that way, you can attempt to beat them before they happen. So, what are a few common welding injuries?
Common Welding Injuries: Acknowledging Risks
Burns
As we mentioned above, you’re dealing with some pretty high-heat materials. From the torch you’re using to weld the metal, to the metal itself, flare-ups, torch lighting, and flammable materials. Every aspect of welding is dangerous, and that’s why it’s so important to use the proper gear.
Eye Injuries
Using goggles and a welding hood is extremely important to protect your eyes from debris, and also from light. A welder’s hood dims the light and filters it to make sure your eyes are not exposed to the bright light that surrounds whatever you’re welding. Furthermore, using these pieces of equipment will help you avoid damage caused by flying items and debris that come off of what you’re welding.
Welder’s flash is an injury caused by the UV and Infrared light that comes from the welding arc. Think of UV light as a sunburn for your eyes. It’s not something you notice right away. However, with time, that light exposure will lead to scorched retinas and even cataracts.
Hearing problems
Excessive noise in the workshop has the potential to cause hearing loss and damages. The rule of thumb is if you can’t hear the person next to you, you’re at risk for hearing-related issues. So, consider purchasing some noise filtering earplugs, or headphones. Furthermore, consider wearing earplugs, using sound barriers, and having a hearing test every now and then. While you might not think about it too often— welding injuries come in all shapes and sizes.
Acknowledging dangers
The first step to preventing injury is knowing what a common injury looks like in your work field. As for welding injuries, we now know that the effects can be quite serious. From burns to hearing loss— the important thing to remember is that there are ways to minimize danger and risk.