While the risks posed by welding fume are serious, keeping safe can be straightforward.

In January 2024, Work Health and Safety Ministers agreed to an 80 per cent reduction to the Workplace Exposure Standard (WES) for welding fume from five milligrams per cubic metre (mg/m3) of air to 1mg/m3.

All Australian workplaces must now comply with this new lower limit by law, sending a clear message to the welding industry that welding fume is serious, and action is required.

This message has in turn encouraged welding businesses to review their risk assessments, revise their welding fume control measures, and work towards minimising exposure to as low as reasonably practicable.

So what are the key considerations to ensure a workplace is up to standard?

Monitor welding fume

Firstly, it is important for employers to gauge the effectiveness of their current welding fume control framework.

The AeroGuard Air Monitor can measure the welding fume level in a workplace in real-time. This allows businesses to understand the quality of their workshop air in relation to the NEW Workplace Exposure Standard for Welding Fume (1mg/m³).

The AeroGuard is equipped with a diverse array of sensors capable of detecting a variety of pollutants and climate factors that impact comfort and wellbeing:

• Particulate matter (eg welding fume)
• Volatile organic compounds
• Carbon dioxide
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Sound
• Atmospheric pressure
• Indoor Air Quality Index

A 360° LED ring keeps users perpetually updated by alternating between green (good), yellow (moderate) and red (unhealthy) according to the air quality in their work environment.

As a result, with an AeroGuard at their disposal, businesses are well placed to identify the risks to their workers and optimise their welding fume control measures accordingly.

Protecting welders

The important point to understand is that while the risk posed by welding fume is serious, keeping welders safe can be straightforward.

Welding helmets with integrated Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) have been established as “the most widely used form of respiratory protection amongst welders in Australia and New Zealand”.^1.

This widespread trust in powered air systems has been reinforced by the results of an independent scientific study comparing the relative effectiveness of common welding fume product controls.

Among many eye-opening findings from the study, perhaps the most notable was that PAPR welding helmets demonstrated an Effective Protection Factor (EPF) of at least 2600 – a level of performance 52 times better than the Required Minimum Protection Factor (RMPF) of 50 specified in the Australian and New Zealand standard for respiratory protection (AS/NZS1715:2009)².

This EPF equates to a reduction in welding fume exposure of at least 99.96 per cent; as such, the powered air welding helmet used in the study emerged as by far the most effective control measure in protecting the welder from welding fume exposure when compared to on-gun fume extraction or hooded capture Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV).²

A welding helmet with an integrated PAPR also provides protection to the welder’s eyes and face from radiation, heat, sparks, splatter, and foreign objects.

Based on the results of the study, PAPR welding helmets should be considered a priority in situations where the welder is the only person requiring protection against welding fumes, in environments with good ventilation.

Protect surrounding workers

Given the fact a welding fume particle that is 0.5 micrometres in size can take two days to reach the floor from a height of 1.5m, it is apparent that the air in welding environments can contain respiratory hazards long after welding has been completed.

It is an employer’s legal responsibility to reduce welding fume exposure to as low as reasonably practicable for all persons, not just the welder.

On-gun fume extraction and hooded capture LEV are two common methods used to capture welding fume directly at the source and remove it from the environment altogether; the most effective way to ensure surrounding workers are not exposed.

Per the aforementioned study, on-gun fume extraction was found to remove 33 per cent more welding fume from the environment than its hooded capture counterpart.

On-gun fume extractors also boast the added benefit of following the welder as they move, while fixed LEV hooded capture requires the welder to be perfectly positioned relative to the capture hood and for the welder and welding arc location to remain relatively stationary.

What’s more, on-gun technology has now evolved to address criticisms that the guns were too heavy, cumbersome, inconsistent, and interfering with the shielding gas.

Consequently, when the priority is capturing welding fume at the source to protect all workers in the workplace, on-gun fume extraction (if suitable for the application*) should be used in tandem with PAPR welding helmets.

* Please note that on-gun fume extraction is not compatible with all applications (eg MMA stick welding).

1 Welding Fume Product Controls Survey, AWS, June 2023 (560 respondents).

2 2023 Peter Knott, Georgia Csorba, Dustin Bennett, Ryan Kift. Welding fume; a comparison study of industry used control methods. Safety Journal.