Welders

FROM November 1990 to October 1997, 36 construction workers who identified themselves as welders were treated for work-related injuries at the George Washington University Emergency Department. Although the group of injured welders was very small statistically, some distinct risk patterns were identified. Most tradespeople know that eye hazards and respiratory illness are commonly linked to welding. It is clear from the spectrum of injuries seen here that welders perform other tasks besides welding that put them at
risk of injury.

Demographic Characteristics: All of the injured welders were male and their average age was 40. Only one injured welder was of Hispanic origin and 16 (44%) of the welders were black.

Injury Circumstances, Diagnoses, and Injury Locations (charts 16-A through 16-C): Eight of the 11 welders with eye injuries had a piece of metal or welding debris enter their eye. Of these, five were welding at the time, one was cutting metal studs, and two were doing unspecified tasks. The remaining three eye injuries involved a paint chip, cement dust, and an exploding grinding wheel. Four of the 11 welders volunteered that they had been wearing some type of eye protection at the time of their injury. (However, this number may underestimate the use of eye protection, because emergency room personnel do not systematically record this information.)

Welding and welding-related injuries and illnesses are not restricted to welders. For instance, of the 22 welding-related eye injuries seen among injured construction workers, half involved occupations other than welders, including two bystanders. A carpenter had some welding fume or slag enter his eye when he was working alongside a welder; a painter was working one floor below a welder when a metal particle got in his eye. Three of the 11 workers in other occupations told emergency department staff that they were wearing eye protection at the time of injury, and one reported that he had removed his face shield prematurely.

In an incident involving heavy masonry, a welder suffered serious bruises when he caught his hand under a two-ton concrete slab that was being lowered from a crane.

Of the six falls, four were from scaffolds.

In addition to the eye injuries discussed above, welders sustained the following injuries and illnesses while welding or cutting: a face contusion from a flying piece of metal, dizziness from unknown causes, and, metal fume fever after welding on galvanized steel without any respiratory protection. Two workers burned their forearms after leaning against pipes that had recently been cut with a blowtorch. These injuries indicate the range of hazards that welders are exposed to, but the numbers are too small to make a reliable comparison to the overall construction injury patterns. Fortunately, none of the welders was seriously enough injured to require hospital admission.

Recommendations: Eye protection is the most obvious starting point for welding-related injuries. The welder must wear appropriate protection with sideshields to reduce the likelihood of radiation and particulate entering the eyes. Notably, not a single welder was treated for eye burns. That four of the 11 welders who sustained eye injuries reported that they were wearing eye protection at the time of their injury highlights that the eye protection must be appropriate for the task. The welder’s face shield, while protecting from arc flash, does not protect the eyes from particles, nor does it protect the lungs from welding fume.

Aside from eye injuries, the diversity of injury circumstances and diagnoses makes it difficult to identify specific hazards. However, the range of injury circumstances (for example, falls from scaffolds, being struck by very heavy objects) does indicate that welders experience the hazards of the general construction environment, and that prevention measures should be accordingly implemented. Finally, the range of trades that were treated for welding-related eye injuries illustrates that workers from other trades are at risk and should be thoroughly instructed in welding safety if they will be welding or working alongside welders.

Chart 16-A
Chart 16-B

36 injured welders
Detailed causes of injury

Chart 16-C

36 injured welders treated for 36 diagnoses
Diagnoses by body part

For example:
* Percentage of welders with one or more eye injuries. Percents add to more than 100 because some injured workers had more than one diagnosis.
** Number of welders with one or more eye injuries.

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