1.0  INTRODUCTION

Welding, cutting, and brazing are hazardous activities that pose a unique combination of both safety and health risks to more than 500,000 workers in a wide variety of industries. The risk from fatal injuries alone is more than four deaths per thousand workers over a working lifetime.

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

2. If the object welded or cut cannot be moved and if the fire hazards cannot be removed, then guards will be used to confine heat, sparks, and slag, and to protect immovable fire hazards.

3. If there are floor openings that cannot be closed, precautions will be taken to prevent combustible materials on the floor below from being exposed to sparks which might drop through the floor. The same precautions will be observed with cracks or holes in walls, open doorways and open or broken windows.

4. Suitable fire extinguishing equipment will be readily available.

5. Fire watchers are required whenever 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.

6. Fire watchers will have fire extinguishing equipment readily available and be trained in its use. They will be familiar with the procedures for sounding an alarm in the event of a fire.

7. The fire watch will be maintained for at least a half hour after completion of welding or cutting operations to detect and extinguish possible smoldering fires.

8. Where combustible materials such as paper clippings, wood shavings, or textile fibers are on the floor, the floor will be swept clean for a radius of 35 feet. Combustible floors will be kept wet, covered with damp sand, or protected by fire-resistant shields. Where floors have been wet down, personnel operating arc welding or cutting equipment will be protected from possible shock.

9. Cutting or welding will not be 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 such as bulk sulfur, baled paper, or cotton.

10. Ducts and conveyor systems that might carry sparks to distant combustibles will be suitably protected or shut down.

11. Where cutting or welding is done near walls, partitions, ceiling or roof of combustible construction, fire-resistant shields or guards will be provided to prevent ignition.

12. If welding is done on a metal wall, partition, ceiling or roof, precautions will be taken to prevent ignition of combustibles on the other side, due to conduction or radiation, preferably by relocating combustibles. Where combustibles are not relocated, a fire watch on the opposite side from the work will be provided.

13. Welding will not be attempted on a metal partition, wall, ceiling or roof having a combustible covering nor on walls or partitions of combustible sandwich-type panel construction.

14. Cutting or welding on pipes or other metal in contact with combustible walls, partitions, ceilings or roofs will not be undertaken if the work is close enough to cause ignition by conduction.

15. Before cutting or welding is permitted, the area will be inspected by an authorized individual. This person will designate precautions to follow and will grant authorization to proceed, preferably in the form of a written permit.

16. Cutters or welders and their supervisors will be trained by the Safety Office in the safe operation of their equipment and the safe use of the process.

17. Project Managers will advise contractors about flammable materials or hazardous conditions at the university.

1. Welding, cutting, or other hot work will not be performed on used drums, barrels, tanks or other containers until they have been cleaned thoroughly to make certain there are no flammable or toxic materials present. Any pipe lines or connections to the drum or vessel will be disconnected or blanked.

2. All hollow spaces, cavities or containers will be vented to permit the escape of air or gases before preheating, cutting or welding. Purging with inert gas is recommended.

1. Appropriate mechanical ventilation will be provided for welders in a confined space.

2. When welding or cutting is performed in a confined space, gas cylinders and welding machines will be left on the outside. Before operations are started, heavy portable equipment mounted on wheels will be securely blocked to prevent accidental movement

3. Where a welder must enter a confined space, means will be provided for quickly removing the worker in case of emergency. An attendant will be stationed outside to observe the welder at all times and be capable of putting rescue operations into effect.

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

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

6. In order to eliminate the possibility of gas escaping through leaks or improperly closed valves, torch valves will be closed and the gas supply to the torch shut off outside the confined area whenever the torch is not used for a substantial period of time, such as during lunch hour or overnight. Where practicable, the torch and hose will also be removed from the confined space.

1. A welder working on platforms, scaffolds, or runways will be protected against falling. This may be accomplished by the use of railings, safety harnesses, life lines, or other equally effective safeguards.

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

1. Helmets or hand shields will be used during all arc welding or arc cutting operations. Helpers or attendants will be provided with proper eye protection.

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

3. All operators and attendants of resistance welding or resistance brazing equipment will use transparent face shields or goggles to protect their faces or eyes.

4. Eye protection will meet the following specifications:

• Helmets and hand shields will be made of a material which is an insulator for heat and electricity.
• Helmets, shields and goggles will not be readily flammable and will be capable of withstanding sterilization.
• Helmets and hand shields will be arranged to protect the face, neck and ears from direct radiant energy from the arc.
• Helmets will be provided with filter plates and cover plates designed for easy removal.
• All parts will be constructed of a material which will not readily corrode or discolor the skin.
• Goggles will be ventilated to prevent fogging of the lenses as much as practicable.
• All glass for lenses will be tempered, substantially free from striae, air bubbles, waves and other flaws.

• Lenses will bear a permanent distinctive marking by which the source and shade may be readily identified.

5. The following is a guide for the selection of the proper shade numbers. All filter lenses and plates will meet the test for transmission of radiant energy described in ANSI Z87.1.

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

1. If possible, the welder should be enclosed in an individual booth painted with a finish of low reflectivity or enclosed with noncombustible screens similarly painted. Booths and screens will permit circulation of air at floor level.

2. Workers adjacent to the welding areas will be protected from the rays by noncombustible screens or shields or will be required to wear appropriate goggles.

1. Employees exposed to the hazards created by welding, cutting, or brazing operations will be protected by appropriate protective clothing depending on the size, nature and location of the work performed.

1. Mechanical ventilation will be provided:

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

2. The ventilation will be at the minimum rate of 2,000 cubic feet per minute per welder, except where local exhaust hoods and booths are provided.

1. Local exhaust or general ventilating systems will be provided and arranged to keep the amount of toxic fumes, gases, or dusts below the permissible exposure limit.

2. Mechanical local exhaust ventilation may be by means of either of the following:

a. Freely movable hoods placed by the welder as near as practical to the work and provided with a rate of 100 linear 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 control velocity using a 3-inch wide flanged suction opening are shown in the following table:

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

1. All welding and cutting operations carried on in confined spaces will be mechanically ventilated to prevent the accumulation of toxic materials or possible oxygen deficiency.

2. In areas immediately hazardous to life, a full-facepiece, pressure-demand, self-contained breathing apparatus or a combination full-facepiece, pressure-demand supplied-air respirator with an auxiliary, self-contained air supply approved by NIOSH will be used.

3. Oxygen will not be used for ventilation.

Zinc- Indoors, welding or cutting involving zinc-bearing base or filler metals coated with zinc-bearing materials will be done in a local exhaust hood or booth.

Lead- Indoors, welding involving lead-base metals will be done in a local exhaust hood or booth. In confined spaces or indoors, welding or cutting operations involving lead, other than as an impurity, or metals coated with lead-bearing materials, including paint, must be done using local exhaust ventilation. Such operations, when done outdoors, must be done using respirators.

Beryllium- Welding or cutting indoors, outdoors, or in confined spaces involving beryllium-containing base or filler metals will be done using local exhaust ventilation unless atmospheric tests established that the workers' exposure is within acceptable concentrations.

Cadmium- In confined spaces or indoors, welding or cutting operations involving cadmium-bearing or cadmium-coated base metals must be done using local exhaust ventilation unless atmospheric tests show that employee exposure is within acceptable concentrations. Such operations, when done outdoors, must be done using respirators.

Mercury- In confined spaces or indoors, welding or cutting operations involving metals coated with mercury-bearing materials, including paint, must be done using local exhaust ventilation unless atmospheric tests show that employee exposure is within acceptable concentrations. Such operations, when done outdoors, must be done using respirators.

Cleaning compounds- Because of their possible toxicity or flammability, appropriate precautions such as manufacturers instructions will be followed. Operations involving chlorinated hydrocarbons will be located so that vapors from these operations will not be drawn into the atmosphere surrounding the welding operation. In addition, trichloroethylene and perchlorethylene should be kept out of atmospheres penetrated by the ultraviolet radiation of gas-shielded welding operations.

Stainless Steels- Oxygen cutting, using either a chemical flux or iron powder or gas-shielded arc cutting of stainless steel, will be done using mechanical ventilation adequate to remove the fumes.

1. First-aid equipment will be available at all times. All injuries will be reported as soon as possible for medical attention. First aid will be rendered until medical attention can be provided.