News & Insights
Results Published for the 2020 Welding Fume & Respiratory Protection Survey
Australian Welding Supplies Pty (AWS) recently published the results of the 2020 Welding Fume & Respiratory Protection Survey. This was a survey conducted across Australia and New Zealand with responses from over 2,400 welders.
Key findings of the survey include the following
- Only 20% of respondents feel protected from welding fume at work
- There is still a significant lack of awareness, with 37% of respondents unaware of the 2017 reclassification of welding fume as a Category 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research for Cancer (IARC)
- 32% of respondents are not using any form of respiratory protective equipment during the course of welding activities
- Only 11% of respondents confirmed that air monitoring had been completed at their workplace. In accordance with the Safe Work Australia 2018 Welding Processes Code of Practice, employers must ensure that welding fume air monitoring is conducted if they are unsure whether the relevant Workplace Exposure Standard (WES) is exceeded, or where monitoring is required to determine if there is a risk to health.
The survey highlights that there is still a great deal of work to be done in accordance with best practice and regulatory guidance. This is of particular importance with regard to building awareness and consistent health and hygiene frameworks for welding process risk management.
The full survey summary is available here.
Managing Welding Fume Risks
Greencap’s team of Occupational hygienists can provide the following to support businesses in managing welding fume risks:
- Occupational Health, Hygiene and Wellness Management Plans & Procedures
- Baseline / Periodic Air Monitoring
- Occupational Health Risk Assessments
- Personal Protective Equipment / Respiratory Protective Equipment review
- Respirator Fit Testing
- Risk Management / Mitigation Strategies
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