Chapter 2: Physical Hazards in the Welding Environment
Overview
People of all backgrounds enter the field of welding. You may have grown up working with your hands on a farm around heavy equipment or in the suburbs working on cars in your garage, and therefore physical work is familiar. Or you may have grown up with a goal of becoming a writer or lawyer, so working with your hands is unfamiliar. You may have grown up playing sports or spending your time creating art. You may have a background in retail or hospitality. You may have a college degree or not have finished high school. You may identify with all or none of these descriptions. What early-career welders do have in common is that we are learning a skill that can be both personally fulfilling and financially rewarding—although we may have had no idea what we were getting into when we first got started!
No matter your background, when you start a career in welding you must be aware of the hazards. The reality is that welders can be injured or even lose their lives while on the job. Rather than be alarmed, know that there are many regulations in place to protect you. Your own attitude of safety is also essential.
The Williams-Steiger Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 requires employers to provide training and maintain a safe working environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the regulatory agency that oversees its enforcement. “Since OSHA’s establishment in 1971, workplace fatalities have been cut by 60 percent, and occupational injury and illness rates, by 40 percent.” (OSHA, n.d)
Objectives
After completing this chapter, students will be able to:
- Know their rights to a safe workplace.
- Identify welding-specific hazards.
- Identify general industry hazards.
Key Terms
- Unsafe act
- Unsafe condition
- Occupational injury
- Occupational illness
- Burns
- Particulates
- Fumes
- Hot work
- Maritime
- Safety data sheet (SDS)
- Lockout/tagout
Attributions
- Chapter opening image: Man Wearing Black Graduation Gown and Cap; Cut em Up…; Aviation Machinist’s Mate Airman Jadah Martinez performs on an aircraft engine in the jet shop aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).; Photo of Man Wearing Eyeglasses; A Woman Driving a Tractor by Anand Raj; Tasayu Tasnaphun; U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Chen; fauxels; Kindel Media is released under Pexels License; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0; PD; Pexels License; Pexels License
- Figure 2.1: image released under the Pexels License
