Beyond the Limits of PPE

Beyond the Limits of PPE

The fact that personal protective equipment (PPE) must be used to protect against weld spatter, radiation, noise and harmful fumes during welding is basic knowledge for anyone who welds. But what can you do when these protective measures reach their limits?

Additional protection against fumes

PPE is mandatory when welding. But the problem is evident in the name itself: Personal protective equipment is used exclusively for your own protection. Radiation, fumes, ozone and other hazards are dispersed around the welding area and posing a risk to other employees working nearby. They inhale everything unfiltered with the air they breathe. Unfortunately, this fact is often overlooked.

In areas with extensive welding, stationary hall extraction systems or hood extraction systems are typically used. When working with a hood extraction system, the hood must always be positioned precisely over the weld in order to absorb as many fumes as possible. The problem: Moving the extraction funnel is inconvenient and often forgotten. Extraction systems mounted on the hall ceiling often recirculate the air throughout the entire hall. With both solutions, the fumes first have to rise before they can be captured by the extraction system. Fine dusts have ample time to disperse further. Welding specialists can protect themselves by wearing a helmet with a fresh air supply, but everyone else in the vicinity breathes in the fumes.

Best: extraction at the source

The German “Gefahrstoffverordnung” (Hazardous Substances Ordinance) GefStofV Annex I No. 2 – DGUV information “Effective capture and separation of welding fumes”, as of 25.10.2021) clearly states (translated from the original): “A safe method of protecting welders and other employees in the vicinity from welding fumes is to capture the welding fumes at their point of origin. This prevents them from entering the welder's breathing zone and the hall air in the first place. For this purpose, either torch-integrated capture systems must be used or suitable capture elements must be positioned close to the source [...].”

Extraction at the source – so-called spot extraction – is the safest method of protecting welding personnel from harmful fumes. The system of the xFUME line from ABICOR BINZEL offers such a method. If the extraction torch is in its ideal position for fume extraction, between 90 % and 99 % of the fumes can be extracted – provided an extraction unit from the xFUME line is also in use. In this case, as much as 99.95 % of these absorbed dust particles > 0.1 µm are absorbed in the filter system of the extraction unit. This is referred to as separation efficiency.

To ensure optimal protection for all your employees from welding fumes, PPE is insufficient. The most effective approach is to rely on spot extraction, i.e. extraction at the source.

(Source: ABICOR BINZEL Press Release)