Even More Reasons to Add Fume Control to Your Workshop
Posted by Connor Urquhart on
Not only do you have to protect the health and safety of your workers on the shop floor.
It’s the other foot traffic in your workshop including production planners, supervisors, HR people, delivery drivers, customers and suppliers need to be protected from hazardous fumes created from welding.
Many international health organizations now recognize the importance of protecting all workers to the harmful and hazardous fumes and smoke created by welding, plasma cutting and grinding.
Why is welding, plasma cutting and grinding dangerous?
Welding, plasma cutting and grinding fumes all are considered a thermal process, therefore these small particles float about in an ambient environment. As these particles cool, they float down and dust then builds up on all surfaces. This dust can then be disturbed and the whole process is repeated. Not only is the dust harmful to humans, but it can also damage expensive equipment which has an impact on the continued cost of purchasing new equipment on a regular basis.
Numerous studies conducted around the world have calculated that the average welder generates somewhere between 35kgs to 75kgs of fumes per year. This fume is exceedingly small, somewhere between 0.01 to 0.1 micron. This is where the problem beings because these fumes can be breathed into the lungs. Welding fumes can contain many different properties, but the common high-risk materials are lead, manganese, hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) and nickel.
As a business owner or manager, what can I do to prevent this risk?
Breathing masks for the welders is a great start. To protect all the workers working around a welder a mobile fume control unit adds the all-important second layer of protect. The mobile fume control unit needs to have a flexible arm for the welder to move around the job to maximize the fume collection. Positioned on the end of the flexible arm is the hood which is made from a heat resistant material and needs to be about 150mm from the fume source. The fume extraction is created by vacuum that has the correct airflow to carry the dangerous fume particles to a filter inside the fume control unit. The filter needs to be cleaned safely by either replacement or via an internal air cleaning system that allows the particles to settle in a collection bin.
What are my options?
At Allclear there are several options depending on the size of the process and budget.
Allclear MA100 is a durable welding and grinding fume extraction unit equipped with a 3-meter arm. It is one of the most compact and economical units in the Allclear range. Mounted on casters for greater mobility, the Allclear MA100 has cleanable filters and an impact plate above the filter to reduce the risk of burnout and increase the life of the filters. Using single phase power, the maximum air flow is 3000m3 per hour.
Allclear MA300auto is a durable mobile welding and grinding fume extraction unit equipped this a 3-meter arm. This unit incorporates an auto air rotation filter clean system plus working hour counter, filter fullness indicator, malfunction warning and a special dust collection bin. Mounted on caster wheels for greater mobility, the Allclear MA300-auto has an impact plate above the filter to reduce the risk of burnout and increase the life of the filters. Using single phase power, the maximum air flow is 3000m3 per hour.
Allclear MA350 & MA350auto is a durable mobile welding and grinding fume extraction unit equipped with a 2 x 3-meter arms. The MA350auto incorporates an auto air rotation filter clean system plus working hour counter, filter fullness indicator, malfunction warning and a special dust collection bin. The MA350 has a manual air filter cleaning system as well as the other features listed above. Mounted on caster wheels for greater mobility, the Allclear MA350-auto and MA300 has an impact plate above the filter to reduce the risk of burnout and increase the life of the filters. Using 3-phase power, the maximum air flow is 3500m3 per hour.