Arc welding health and safety guidence

Arc welding health and safety guidence

Arc welding health and safety guidence

Keywords: Health and Safety Executive, Publication, Arc welding, Health and Safety

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published Health and Safety in Arc Welding. This guidance gives advice to employers who use arc welding on how to meet their health and safety legal requirements. It also outlines practical precautions to reduce the risks to operators of electric arc welders, including: fumes; gases – toxic and asphyxiating; radiation ultraviolet, visible and infra-red; spatter and hot components; fire and explosions; and electric shock and burns.

Roger Sykes of the HSE's Engineering Sector said: "Electric arc welding takes place in a wide range of workplaces. Although the extent of use can vary, each time welding takes place it exposes welders and others nearby to risks to their health and safety. Some of these risks are increased significantly when working in a confined space and damp or wet conditions. The advice in this booklet can help to reduce those risks".

Copies of Health and Safety in Arc Welding, ISBN 0717618137, price £3.50, can be ordered online at http://www.hsebooks.co.uk or are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA. Tel: +44 (0)1787 881165; Fax: +44 (0)1787 313995.