HealthandSafety WL88 Oxy-gas welding and brazing

1 Thisinformationwillhelpemployers(includi ngthese lf -e mployed)complywiththeControlofSubstances Haz ardoustoHealthRegulations2002(COSHH),as amended,toco nt ro l exposureandpr otectworkers is alsousefulfortradeunionsafetyreprese , withanincreasedriskofas sheetdescribesgoodpracticeusingengineeri ngcontrol- mov eableex coversthepointsyouneedtofollowtoreduce ex posureto is importantto followallthepoints,oruseequallyef fective alloysco nt ainingcadmiumorberyll ium, Dust andfumeca n causeseriouslungdiseas es . Keepexposureaslowaspossibleus ingall thecontrolsinthissheet. Design,install, Hea lt h monitoringis ess and pre mises Onl y al low accessto au tho ris ed staff. Locat e the work away fro m doors, windows an d aug hts interferi ng wi th th e extracti on.

2 Equ ipment Pr ovid e a goo d stan dard of gen eral ventilation; 5-10 air ch an ges perhou r, with a thro ugh drau gh t. Pr ovid e a cap ture hood on a fl exi ble arm , or a mob ile unit. Seeillus trat ions. Yo u need an air sp eed of at least 1 metre per secon d to clear fu me,and bet ween 5 and 10 met res per secon d into a moveablehood duct. Fi t a mano met er, pressu re gau ge or tel l-tale to sh ow th at the extracti onis wo rking . Di scharg e cl eaned , ex tractedai r to a safe place out side the building,awa y from doors an d windows. Mo bi le uni ts can retu rn cl eaned ai r to th e workroom. Hav e a su ppl y of cl ean ai r co ming into th e wo rkroomto replaceext racted air .Procedures Remo ve grease and al l su rface coati ngs first, unles s th ey are meant tobe wel ded or cu t thro ugh.

3 Ar rang e wo rk so that th e worker s head is ou t of the fume. Con firm that ext racti on is tur ned on an d workin g. Ad jus t a moveabl e wel ding hood so it collectshot fume risin g. Thehoo d shou ld be withi n on e duct di ameter of the weldin g point. Us e the co rrect nozzl e an d keep the flame as sh ort as pos alth an d SafetyExecutiveOxy-gasweldingandbrazingC ontrolapproach2 EngineeringcontrolCOSHH essentialsforwelding,hotworkandalliedpro cessesWL88 Duct boxhelps toenclosefumeFlanged hoodef fective capture zone - one diameter of flangeDuct boxhelps toenclosefumeFlanged hoodef fective capture zone - one diameter of flangeExtracted welding hoodsWelding, hot work and allied processes WL8 Engineering control Avo id n itrou s fu mes - r em ind w orkers to ex tin guish th e to rch d urin gwork p au ses.

4 Ch eck f or ga s tio n: r educ ing flames can p rod uce carbo n ten ance, examination and test ing Fo llow t he inst ru ct ions in the ma nua l - kee p equipment in ef fective andeffi ci ent wor king o rder. If a ny eq uipme nt is f aulty , rep ai r i t s traig ht awa y. Daily, look for signs of dama ge to du ct ing , fa ns an d air filters. Noisy orvibrati ng fa ns c an indicate a prob lem . At least o nc e a we ek, c heck th at the ext ract ion s ystem and gau geswork p ro pe rly. You ne ed t o kn ow the ma nuf actu rer s s pec ification s to check theextr acti on s per for ma nc e. If t hi s info rma tion isn t ava ila ble , hir e a compe ten t ven tilation en gin eerto det er mine th e pe rf orma nce need ed for effective contro l.

5 The en gi neer s report mus t sh ow the ta rg et ext raction rates. Kee p t hi s in for mat ion in your test ing lo g-b oo k. Get a co mpe te nt vent ilati on engi nee r to exa mi ne th e ext ractiontho rou gh ly an d te st its performance at l ea st o nce every 14 months , orsix mon th s fo r no n-fe rr ou s m eta ls. S ee the HSE publication HSG54 -see F urt he r info rma tion . Kee p re co rds of all e xa mi nat ion s an d test s for at least five years. Revi ew re cor ds - f ailur e p atter ns s how whe re p reven tive mai ntenan ceis need prot ect ive equipment (PPE) Ask yo ur saf ety equipm ent sup pl ier to he lp yo u g et th e righ t P PE. Pro vid e sto ra ge fo r clean and con tamin ated protective equipment (RPE) RPE s ho uld n ot be nee protective equipment Pro vid e an d e nsure tha t workers use a w eld ing h elmet, flame-resistantover al ls a nd pr ot ect ive g love s.

6 Use a p ro pe rly e quipped cont ra ct l aun dry or a suitab le eq uivalen t t owash w or k c loth ing . Skin cr eams he lp in wa sh ing con tam ina tio n from the skin. After-workcre ams he lp to replac e s kin oil s. Cau tio n: Never allow use of com pres sed air for removing dust fromcloth ing .Heal th mo nitoring You sh ou ld co nsider health m oni torin g. Se e sh eet G401. Co nsu lt an oc cupat ional he alth pr ofes sio nal - see Usefu l links .Cl eani ng an d hou sekeeping Kee p t he wor k a rea c lean and free of combus tible materials. Cl ean the ge ne ra l workroom on ce a we checklistDo yo u kn ow ho w t o usethe co ntr ols pr operl y?Is t he ex tract io n in t he rig ht po sit io n a ndwork ing ?

7 Use, mai nt ain an d st oreyo ur pr ote ct ive equ ipm en t inac co rda nce w it h i nst ru ctio ok fo r sig ns o f l eak s,wear an d yo u fi nd an y pr oblem s,tell yo ur superviso r. Do n tju st car ry o n wo rk in t o ut t he t orc h du ri ngwork pau -o per ate w it h h eal thmoni to ri ng .Wash yo ur h ands befor eea ti ng , drin king , o r u sin g th ela vat or r cle an you r h an dswit h so lven ts orco ncen trat ed cl ean ingpr oduc skin c rea ms pro vi dedas inst ru ct , hot work and allied processes WL8 Engineering control Pub lis hed b y the H ea lth and Saf ety Executive 08/ 11 This document contains notes on good practice which are notcompulsory but which you may find helpful in considering what you need to do.

8 Crown c opyright If you w ish to r eus e th is inf ormation visitwww .hs e. go fo r det ails. Fi rst p ub lis hed 04 ni ng an d su per vision Tell wor ker s t ha t fum e from w el ding and cu ttin g can cause s eriou s lu ngdisease s. Wo rki ng in t he r igh t w ay and us ing the con trols correct ly is imp ortan tfor exp osu re co nt rol. Train and su pervi se w orkers. See sheet inf or mation Maintenance, examination and testing of local exhaust ventilationHS G54 ( Se con d e dit ion) HS E Bo oks 1 998 I SBN 0 71 76 14 85 9 The safe use of compressed gases in welding , flame cutting and allied processes HSG 139 HS E Books 1997 ISBN 0 71 76 06 80 5 Cadmium in silver soldering or brazing Engi neering Information Sh eet EIS31 H SE 1999 Web on ly vers ion avai lable atwww.

9 H se .g k/pu bns/ ei df Hot work on small tanks and drums Leafl et I NDG31 4 HSE Books 2000(si ng le c opy fr ee or p riced packs of 10 I SBN 0 7 17 6 1 76 6 1 ) Fo r env iro nme nt al gu idel ine s s ee s heet WL 0 Usef ul li nks Yo ur tr ad e association m ay ad vise on heal th and s afety consu ltan tsand tr ai ni ng pr ovid ers. Fo r infor mat ion about heal th a nd safe ty, o r to rep ort incons isten cies orina ccu ra cies in t his gui dan ce , visi t w You can viewHS E gu ida nc e o nlin e and ord er pri ced pub lications fro m the E pr ice d pub lic at ion s are als o avai lab le from books hops . Co nta ct th e Br itish O ccupa tion al Hygi ene Soc iet y (BOH S) o n 013 32298101 o r at for li sts of q ual ifi ed hygienists wh o canhe lp y ou.

10 Lo ok i n th e Yello w P ages und er Hea lth and safet y co nsultants an d He alt h au th or ities a nd services for occupa tio nal health . Al so s ee www. nhspl is doc um ent i s avai lable at: an /