SAFETY GUIDELINES
WELDING, CUTTING, AND BRAZING

1. When practical, move objects to be welded or cut to a safe location. If the object cannot readily be moved, move fire hazards in the vicinity to a safe place. If possible, move combustibles at least 35 feet from the work site.

2. If the object cannot be moved and if the fire hazards cannot be removed, then use guards to confine the heat, sparks, and slag, and to protect the fire hazards.

3. If there are floor openings, cracks or holes in walls, open doorways and open or broken windows that cannot be closed, take precautions to prevent combustible materials from going through these openings.

4. Ensure that fire extinguishers are readily available.

5. Post fire watchers when welding or cutting is performed in locations where any of the following conditions exist:

• Appreciable combustible materials are closer than 35 feet to the point of operation.
• Appreciable combustibles are more than 35 feet away but are easily ignited by sparks.
• Wall or floor openings within a 35-foot radius expose combustible material in adjacent  areas including concealed spaces in walls or floors.
• Combustible materials are adjacent to the opposite side of metal partitions, walls, ceilings, or roofs and are likely to be ignited by conduction or radiation.

5a. Fire watchers must have fire extinguishes readily available and be trained in its use. They must be familiar with the procedures for sounding an alarm in the event of a fire.

5b. Maintain the fire watch for at least a half hour after completion of welding or cutting operations to detect and extinguish possible smoldering fires.

6. Where combustible materials such as paper clippings or wood shavings are on the floor, sweep the floor clean for a radius of 35 feet. Keep combustible floors wet, covered with damp sand, or protected by fire-resistant shields. If floors have been wet down, protect personnel operating arc welding or cutting equipment from possible shock.

7. Cutting or welding is not permitted in the following situations:

• In areas not authorized by management.
• In sprinkled buildings when such protection is shutdown.
• In the presence of potentially explosive atmospheres.
• In areas near the storage of large quantities of exposed, readily ignitable materials

8. Protect or shut down ducts and conveyor systems that might carry sparks to distant combustibles.

9. Provide fire-resistant shields or guards if cutting or welding is done near walls, partitions, ceilings or roofs of combustible construction.

10. If welding is done on a metal wall, partition, ceiling or roof, take precautions to prevent ignition of combustibles on the other side, preferably by relocating combustibles. Where combustibles are not relocated, provide a fire watch on the opposite side from the work.

11. Do not weld on a metal partition, wall, ceiling or roof having a combustible covering nor on walls or partitions of combustible sandwich-type panel construction.

12. Do not cut or weld pipes or other metal in contact with combustible walls, partitions, or ceilings if the work is close enough to cause ignition by conduction.

1. Before cutting or welding, ensure that the area is inspected by an individual responsible for authorizing the operation. The responsible individual will establish precautions to follow and grant authorization preferably in the form of a written permit.

2. Based on fire potentials of plant facilities, establish areas for cutting and welding, and establish procedures for cutting and welding in other areas.

3. Insist that cutters or welders and their supervisors are suitably trained in the safe operation of their equipment and the safe use of the process.

4. Advise contractors about flammable materials or hazardous conditions.

1. Do not weld or cut used drums, barrels, tanks or other containers until they have been cleaned thoroughly to make certain there are no flammable or toxic materials present. Disconnect or blank any pipe lines or connections to the drum or vessel.

2. Vent all hollow spaces, cavities or containers to permit the escape of air or gases before cutting or welding. Purging with inert gas is recommended.

1. Ensure that welders working on platforms, scaffolds, or runways are protected from falling.

2. Place welding cable and other equipment so that it is clear of passageways, ladders, and stairways.

1. Use helmets or hand shields during all arc welding or arc cutting operations. Provide helpers or attendants with proper eye protection.

2. Use goggles or other suitable eye protection during all gas welding or oxygen cutting operations. Spectacles without side shields, with suitable filter lenses, can be used during gas welding operations on light work, for torch brazing or for inspection.

3. When working with resistance welding or brazing equipment use transparent face shields or goggles, depending on the particular job.

4. Use the following guide for the selection of proper shade numbers.

NOTE: In gas welding or oxygen cutting where the torch produces a high yellow light, use a filter or lens that absorbs the yellow light.

1. If possible, enclose the welder in a booth painted with a finish of low reflectivity or enclose the welder with noncombustible screens similarly painted. Ensure that booths and screens permit circulation of air at floor level.

2. Protect workers adjacent to the welding areas from the rays by noncombustible screens or shields or require workers to wear appropriate goggles.

1. Protect employees exposed to the hazards created by welding, cutting, or brazing operations by appropriate personal protective equipment.

1. Leave gas cylinders and welding machines on the outside when welding or cutting is performed in a confined space. Securely block heavy portable equipment mounted on wheels.

2. Provide means for quickly removing a welder from a confined space in case of emergency. Position an attendant with a radio outside to observe the welder at all times.

3. When arc welding is suspended for any substantial period of time, such as during lunch or overnight, remove all electrodes from the holders and carefully position the holders so that accidental contact cannot occur and disconnected the machine from the power source.

4. When gas welding or cutting, close the torch valves and shut off the fuel-gas and oxygen supply to the torch outside the confined area whenever the torch is not used for a substantial period of time. Where practicable remove the torch and hose from the confined space.

5. After welding operations are completed, mark the hot metal or provide some other means of warning other workers.

1. Provide mechanical ventilation:

• In a space with less than 10,000 cubic feet per welder.
• In a room with a ceiling height less than 16 feet.
• In confined spaces or where the welding space contains partitions, balconies, or other structural barriers that significantly obstruct cross ventilation.

2. Ensure that the ventilation rate is at least 2,000 cubic feet per minute per welder, except where local exhaust hoods and booths are used. Natural ventilation is sufficient for welding or cutting operations where the restrictions listed above are not present.

1. Use local exhaust or general ventilation to keep the amount of toxic fumes, gases, or dusts below the permissible exposure limit.

2. For local exhaust ventilation, use one of the following:

a. Movable hoods placed as close to the work as practical and provided with a rate of 100 feet per minute in the zone of welding when the hood is at its most remote distance from the point of welding. The rates of ventilation required to accomplish this velocity using a 3-inch wide flanged suction opening are shown in the following table:

b. A fixed enclosure with a top and two sides which surround the welding or cutting operations and with a rate of airflow of at least 100 linear feet per minute.

1. Mechanically ventilate all welding and cutting operations in confined spaces to prevent the accumulation of toxic materials or possible oxygen deficiency.

2. If mechanical ventilation cannot be provided, use NIOSH approved airline respirators.

3. Do not use oxygen to ventilate a confined space.

1. Ensure that adequate first-aid supplies are available at all times.