Читать книгу Welding For Dummies - Steven Robert Farnsworth - Страница 55

Keep the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for every chemical and other potentially hazardous material in your welding shop on hand. These sheets describe all the properties of a given substance and include details on potential health hazards. Make certain that you and anyone who enters your welding area know the dangers of the materials on hand.

If you’re going to be working with metals or other materials that can produce toxic fumes — check your MSDS to be sure — you should wear a respirator. Simply welding or cutting certain materials can cause a welding plume, which is a mixture of dangerous gases, fumes, and smoke, and that’s definitely not the kind of thing you want to inhale if you’re interested in avoiding respiratory problems.

Figure 3-3 shows four types of respirators:

 On the top left, you can see a welder’s mask, which works to keep fumes out of your lungs.

 The mask on the top right has canisters that filter fumes and other hazardous materials while you’re welding. You can get different types of canisters to match the kinds of hazards specific to various welding projects.

 The basic dust mask on the bottom left offers the least amount of protection.

 The mask on the bottom right filters out particulate matter, so it’s a step up from the basic dust mask but doesn’t do much to protect you from harmful chemical fumes.

FIGURE 3-3: Four different respirator masks.

The metals you weld aren’t the only items that can cause harmful fumes — the substances that may coat those metals can also be hazardous. If you suspect that a piece of metal may be coated with paint or another kind of chemical that may generate dangerous fumes when heated up, be sure you remove that substance (with a chemical cleaner or grinder) before you weld.

In order for a respirator to be completely effective, you need to fit it with the right filter. Check your MSDS to find out which filter you need to protect your respiratory system from a given substance. You can also ask for help at your welding supply store.