Q: My son has recently been hired as a welder’s apprentice. I am worried about the safety issues of this occupation. Can you explain some of the dangers to his health that he may be facing?
A:You are quite right to be concerned about your son’s safety, because although welding can be a highly paid occupation, it is not without its health risks.
The most common injuries are flash burns caused by the ultraviolet light produced by the welding arc. The result is a type of sunburn to the outer surface of the eye, the cornea. Most people make the mistake of thinking that if you do not look at the arc, you will not get burned. If the UV light can get at the eye, even from the side, it can burn you. Often it is the onlookers, or people working nearby, who get this problem. Anyone within six metres of the welding should be wearing safety glasses.
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Another more serious eye injury is a retinal burn, which can lead to blindness in severe cases. To avoid this, the welder needs to wear a hood with a dark lens. Unfortunately, many people tend to cheat, and lift up the hood to see better. Don’t do this. One way to avoid the problem is to use a bright light while working, or use an electrically tinted hood lens.
Electric shock can be another hazard. Operating in wet conditions or with wet equipment is a recipe for disaster. Dry the equipment off, making sure the power source is disconnected. The equipment is not designed for use in wet and windy weather. The welding equipment should be properly grounded, but never use pipelines carrying gases or flammable substances, or electrical conduits as grounds. Electrode holders should be stored where they cannot make contact with people, conductors, fuels or compressed air tanks. When not actively involved in the process of welding, disconnect the power source and remove the electrodes.
Do not weld near flammable liquids or fumes for obvious reasons.
Another, more chronic and insidious hazard to the welder is knee injury. Many welders spend hours kneeling on hard concrete surfaces, and this can eventually damage the knees or cause arthritis or bursitis. Most of these conditions can be avoided by using proper knee pads.
I am sure that most apprentice welders are taught these and other safety regulations in their courses, but there are also many farmers who do their own welding with little or no safety training.
Just a note on a new burn treatment. There is a new technology that involves growing sheets of skin in laboratory conditions. The doctors take small biopsies of the patients’ skin and grow more skin from them. One type is named Epicell. Another technology is known as Trancyte, which is a product harvested from the foreskin of newborn males. As a result of these new treatments, the patient develops new skin to cover up the burn in a much shorter time, which also helps lessen the pain.
