Fight the injustice for argon arc welding! It really does not make people infertile!
Tig Welding Yolo Materials Industry 13th, Apr 2023 6:00pm
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2% Ceriated Tungsten Electrode
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Yolo Materials IndustryArgon arc welding is relatively more harmful than electrode arc welding, but it is not so big that it is daunting.
why?
Let’s talk about these 3 aspects, UV, gas, dust.
Infrared radiation is about 1 to 1.5 times that of ordinary electrode arc welding, and the ultraviolet radiation generated by argon arc welding arc is about 5 to 20 times that of electrode arc welding.
When welding in a limited space, the concentration of ozone can increase to a dangerous level. Moreover, during the welding process, harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide and metal dust will also be produced. All of these pose certain hazards to welders.
Therefore, we must do a good job of protection during the welding process. When selecting the electrode material, try to use the electrode material with low radioactivity – cerium tungsten.
Wear a mask and gloves when grinding electrodes. And wash your hands after work to minimize the hazards.
Hazards of high-frequency electromagnetic fields
Welding usually uses a high-frequency oscillator with a frequency of 200-500kHz, a voltage of 2500-3500V, and an electric field strength of 140-190V/m.
When the arc is struck, the intensity of the high-frequency electromagnetic field generated is between 60 and 110V/m, which is several times higher than the reference health standard (20V/m).
In non-melting electrode argon arc welding and plasma arc welding and cutting, high-frequency oscillators are often used to excite the arc. Some AC argon arc welding machines also use high-frequency oscillators to stabilize the arc.
Under the action of high-frequency electromagnetic field, the human body can absorb a certain amount of radiation energy and produce biological effects, mainly thermal effects.
The strength of the high-frequency electromagnetic field is also affected by many factors, such as distance and oscillator. The closer to the oscillation circuit, the higher the field strength, and vice versa.
Shielding degree of high frequency part
The human body will produce biological effects under the action of high-frequency electromagnetic fields. Long-term exposure of welders to high-frequency electromagnetic fields can cause autonomic dysfunction and neurasthenia. Symptoms include general malaise, dizziness, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia, and low blood pressure.
If the high-frequency oscillator is only used for orphaning, the impact is relatively small due to the short time.
If the arc is struck frequently, or the high-frequency oscillator is continuously used as an arc stabilizing device during the welding process, the high-frequency electromagnetic field can become one of the harmful factors.
Radioactive hazards
The thoriated tungsten used in argon arc welding contains 1% to 1.2% thorium oxide. Thorium is a radioactive element that emits alpha, beta, and gamma rays.
During the welding process and the contact process with the thoriated tungsten rod, it may be affected by radiation.
Through a large number of investigations, the daily consumption of thoriated tungsten rods is only 100–200mg, and the radiation dose is very small, which has little effect on the human body. However, when welding in the container, the ventilation is not smooth, and the radioactive particles in the smoke may exceed the hygienic standard;
Second, when grinding thoriated tungsten rods and the place where thoriated tungsten rods are stored, the concentration of radioactive aerosol and radioactive dust can reach or even exceed the hygienic standard.
The intrusion of radioactive substances into the body can cause chronic radiation diseases and form internal exposure, which is mainly manifested in the weakening of the general functional state, obvious weakness, significantly reduced resistance to infectious diseases, and weight loss.
Popular science knowledge: Radioactive aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended in air or other gases containing radionuclides. Dispersion system formed by solid or liquid radioactive particles suspended in air or gaseous medium.
The basic characteristics of aerosols are instability, particles smaller than 0.1 microns perform Brownian motion in the gas, and do not settle due to gravity; particles of 1 to 10 microns settle slowly and are suspended in the air for a long time.
It has high ionization effects, low concentrations, and are easily charged on particles (produced by radioactive decay).
Radioactive aerosols are the main threat to human internal exposure.
Hazards of strong arc light
Welding arc radiation mainly includes visible light, infrared rays and ultraviolet rays.
They act on the human body, are absorbed by human tissue, cause thermal action, photochemical action or ionization of tissue, and cause damage to human tissue.
The luminosity of visible light is about 10,000 times greater than the normal luminosity of the naked eye. When the visible light radiates to the human eye, it will cause pain and make it hard to see. It is usually called “dazzling”, and loses the ability to work in a short time .
The harm of infrared rays to the human body is mainly caused by the thermal effect of the tissue.
During the welding process, the eyes are exposed to strong infrared radiation, and they will immediately feel strong burns and pains, and flash hallucinations will occur. Long-term exposure may cause infrared cataracts, vision loss, and even blindness in severe cases.
Ultraviolet radiation (UV), also known as ultraviolet radiation, refers to electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of 100-400nm.
Appropriate amount of ultraviolet radiation can have a beneficial effect on the human body, but excessive exposure can cause adverse effects on the human body (such as welding ultraviolet radiation).
The harm of ultraviolet rays to the human body is mainly photochemical action, which causes damage to human skin and eyes.
After the skin is exposed to strong ultraviolet radiation, it can cause dermatitis, diffuse erythema, sometimes small blisters, exudate, burning sensation, and itching;
When the effect is strong, it is accompanied by systemic symptoms: headache, dizziness, fatigue, nervous excitement, fever, insomnia, etc.
Excessive exposure of ultraviolet rays to human eyes can cause acute keratitis and conjunctivitis, that is, electro-optic ophthalmia. Symptoms are high eye shame, tearing, foreign body sensation, tingling, eyelid redness, spasms, accompanied by headache and blurred vision.
The hazards of welding fumes
A large amount of metal welding dust will be produced during the welding process. The metal powder produced by welding has a small diameter, and is easier to inhale into the lungs. Because the diameter is small, it is difficult to excrete the body, so pathological changes occur.
The greater the welding current intensity, the higher the dust concentration. In the case of high concentration of welding dust and no corresponding dust removal measures, long-term exposure to welding dust can cause occupational diseases, such as welder’s pneumoconiosis, manganism and metal fever.
Harmful Gases
Under the action of welding arc high temperature and strong ultraviolet rays, a variety of harmful gases are formed around the arc, mainly including ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydrogen fluoride.
Ozone is an irritating poisonous gas with a light blue color. When the concentration is high, it emits a fishy smell; high concentration ozone also has a slightly sour taste.
The main hazard of ozone to the human body is that it has a strong stimulating effect on the respiratory tract and lungs. It often causes coughing, chest tightness, loss of appetite, fatigue, dizziness, general pain, etc. In severe cases, it can also cause bronchitis and pulmonary edema.
Nitrogen oxides are irritating and toxic gases. Nitrogen dioxide is reddish brown and has a special odor. The harm to the human body is mainly the stimulating effect on the lung tissue.
After it is inhaled into the respiratory tract, it will gradually react with water in the alveoli to form nitric acid and nitrous acid, which will strongly stimulate and corrode the lung tissue, causing poisoning.
The main symptom of chronic poisoning is neurasthenia, such as insomnia, headache, loss of appetite, and weight loss. High concentrations of nitrogen oxides can cause acute poisoning. In mild poisoning, only acute bronchitis occurs; in severe poisoning, severe coughing, dyspnea, collapse, general weakness and other symptoms are caused.
The effect of nitrogen oxides on the human body is also reversible, and its adverse effects will gradually decrease or be eliminated as the time away from work increases.
During argon tungsten arc welding, if ventilation measures are not taken, its concentration often exceeds the hygienic standard by more than ten times, or even dozens of times!
The hygienic standard for nitrogen oxides (converted into nitrogen dioxide) stipulated in our country is 5mg/m3. During the welding process, ozone and nitrogen oxides usually exist at the same time, so they are more toxic.
In general, the presence of two toxic gases at the same time is 15-20 times more harmful than a single toxic gas.
Protective measures:
1. Ventilation
The argon arc welding work site must have a good ventilation device to discharge harmful gases and smoke.
In addition to the ventilation of the factory building, several axial flow fans can be installed in places where the welding workload is heavy and the welding machines are concentrated.
In addition, local ventilation measures can also be used to remove harmful gases around the arc, such as using open arc exhaust hoods, exhaust welding torches, and small portable fans.
2. Radiation protection
Use cerium tungsten electrode with extremely low radiation dose as much as possible.
When processing thorium tungsten electrodes and cerium tungsten electrodes, sealed or ventilated grinding wheels should be used for grinding.
Operators should wear masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment, and wash hands and faces after processing. Thoriated tungsten and cerium tungsten electrodes should be stored in aluminum boxes.
3. Protection against high frequency
In order to prevent and weaken the influence of high-frequency electromagnetic fields, the measures taken are:
- 1) The workpiece is well grounded, and the welding torch cable and ground wire should be shielded with metal braided wire;
- 2) Properly reduce the frequency;
- 3) Try not to use a high frequency oscillator as an arc stabilizing device to reduce the high frequency electric action time.
4. Other personal protective measures
During argon arc welding, due to the strong effects of ozone and ultraviolet rays, it is advisable to wear non-cotton work clothes (such as acid-resistant wool, tussah silk, etc.).
In the case of welding in the container and local ventilation cannot be used, personal protective measures such as air-supply helmets, air-supply masks or gas masks can be used.
Lead Manufacturer of Tungsten Tig Welding Electrode
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Yolo, as a manufacturer of tungsten tig welding electrode rod in China, has over 20 years long history of producing large quantity tungsten tig electrodes for aluminum, stainless steel, orbital, small and precision metal parts welding. If any interests of tungsten tig electrode purchasing, please click the followed button to contact me or email us: dora@yolomet.com.
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