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long time ago there once was a foggot Metalworking is a dangerous profession. Injuries occur every day in metalworking jobs, whether it is a

small cut, or someone cuts one of their arms off. Not using the proper safety procedures, safety equipment, or

not using any safety equipment are major issues in metalworking today. A lot of metalworkers get lazy and think

that they are skilled enough to where they don’t have to use safety equipment, but mistakes still happen even

to the more skilled individuals. From welding alone dangers include getting cut, burned, electrocuted,

hazardous fumes, hazardous smoke, ultraviolet light, loud noise, and causing fires or explosions. To help

prevent injuries welding safety equipment includes safety glasses, particle mask, low-profile respirator, leather

slip-on boots, fire-retardant jacket, fire-retardant jacket with sleeves, welding cap, leather cape with apron,

leather gloves with gauntlets, heavy-duty welding gloves, welding helmet with auto-darkening lens, welding

helmet with flip-up lens, full face #5 filter, and full face clear protective shield. With the proper protective

gear for metal working almost all injuries are preventable. All safety equipment is optional, but without it you

will get hurt. Metal workers do not use enough safety precautions to prevent injuries.

Ultraviolet light can damage your eyes and skin. Ultraviolet lights can cause tans and burns on parts of

skin that are exposed, and without the proper safety goggles or glasses ultraviolet lights can damage the cornea,

retina, and the lens. Not using proper safety glasses when welding is equivalent to staring into the sun. UV rays

can cause cataracts, pterygium, and pinguecula formation. A cataract is a clouding that develops crystalline lens

of the eye or in its envelope, and prevents light from passing through. Pterygium most often refers to a benign

growth of the conjuctiva, which is the membrane that covers the white part of the eye. Pinguecula is the

opposite of pterygium and degenerates the conjuctiva. UV rays can accelerate the aging of the skin, destroy

vitamin A in the skin which can lead to further damage, and change your DNA so that when it goes to replicate

itself it creates a cancerous growth in your skin. Covering your skin and wearing eye protection can prevent

having any of this happen to you. Proper eye glasses are needed for protection against UV rays. Welding glasses

are basically sunglasses that are taken to the extreme. Grade fourteen welding glasses can be used to view solar

eclipses and stare directly at the sun, and are one of the top recommended types of glasses to get for eye

protection in welding. Arc welding goggles have a black shield in the front that protects eyes against exposure to UV rays. Arc welding goggles are produced because normal welding glasses aren’t enough protection against UV rays for arc welding.

Gases, welders are often exposed to dangerous gases and particulate matter. Inhaling particle matter can

severely screw up your lungs and your whole respiratory system. Inhaling gases produced by welding can lead to

cases such as metal fume fever. Metal fume fever symptoms are nonspecific and commonly are thought of as flu

symptoms. Treatment for metal fume fever is bed rest; another more traditional treatment for metal fume

fever is to drink large amounts of milk. Low profile respirators can be used to prevent inhalation of gases and

were created to purify the air you breathe. Respirators can be placed inside of a mask and removed when not

welding in case they are obstructing vision. An OSHA approved N99 Particle Mask is the preferred particle mask

to own and use when welding. Particle masks are used to prevent the spread of germs and prevent any particles

from entering your lungs. Particle masks cover the mouth and nose; they come in large quantities, and are

generally inexpensive. The size of the particles is what makes them dangerous, generally, the smaller the

particle, the more toxic it is. With proper ventilation and the proper safety equipment and procedures for

preventing the inhalation of unsafe gases then gases are virtually harmless.

Underwater welding opens up a whole new can of worms. With underwater welding there are dangers

you couldn’t even imagine, specialized equipment, and advanced training beyond simple welding classes. In

order to become an underwater welder you have to be a qualified topside welder. Underwater welders also

have to be certified commercial divers too. Underwater welders have to be wary of changes in the current,

hypothermia, oxygen, underwater creatures, the bends, visibility, and a vast amount more. Time is one of the

big concerns for underwater welding. Most underwater welding jobs have to be done at two hour intervals.

Since divers can’t stay underwater for longer than that they have to do as much as they can in those two hours.

Special equipment for underwater welding includes special underwater electrodes, electrode holders,

waterproof gloves, and welding lens, along with everything they need to dive down far enough to get to the

weld. Underwater welders risk their lives every time they dive in the water to do a job. Underwater welders

all have a story to tell and one example is from Mike Wheatley. He was doing an underwater welding job when

his diving suit started to dissolve; the hydrocarbons in the water dissolved the glue holding his suit together.

He also said that in many situations he has had to tie himself down to keep from being swept away by the

current. Two risks faced by divers in underwater welding that topside welders don’t have to worry about are

buildup of pockets of gas, and nitrogen being introduced into the blood stream during exposure to air at

increased pressures. Buildup of pockets of gas underwater can be explosive, and the introduction of nitrogen

into the bloodstream can be a risk to a divers health and life. There are many situations in underwater welding

where if you screw up you could be in real trouble, because if you screw up underwater not only can you get

hurt, but you can drown. But in a way underwater welding is just like all other types of metalworking, without

the proper instruction and tools it can get dangerous real fast. This is why in all metalworking jobs you should

use the proper tools and proper safety procedures.

Metal working fluids are one of the biggest problems in metalworking health risks today. Metal working

fluids are used to lubricate, cool, prevent corrosion of, and remove chips from tools and metal parts. However,

metal working fluids have many health risks that go along with using them, employees exposed to them report

having skin irritations, oil acne, rashes, eye irritations, nose irritations, throat irritations, and cough, asthma, or

breathing problems. There are over one hundred million gallons of metal working fluids produced every year and

there are over one million employees exposed to these hazards every year. Straight or soluble oils, semi

synthetic oils, and synthetic oils are the different kinds of metal working fluids and employees are exposed to

them through inhaling aerosols, skin contact with contaminated surfaces, and splashing of the fluids. The

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has done over 70 health hazard evaluations of facilities

exposed to metal working fluids or mineral oil aerosols. Without following the proper procedures metal working

fluids are still causing problems. Between 1998 and 2006 23 health hazard evaluations were requested and 13 of

the 15 where they collected air samples metal working fluids were present above the recommended exposure

levels. This is due to poor ventilation, poor metal working fluid maintenance, and lack of machine enclosures.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is still trying to come up with ways to reduce metal

working fluid exposure.

In metalworking you have to pay attention at all times to what you are doing. Without paying attention

many things can go wrong. Not being focused on what you are doing and not thinking you need the proper

safety equipment are two reasons that people get hurt in metalworking. Some people don’t like wearing certain

safety equipment because it annoys them, obstructs their work, or just because they think that they don’t have

to have it. One metalworker I spoke to has had many injuries related to his job including welding arc flashes,

and at one point it got bad enough to where he had to wear eye patches for six days. He also had metal

splinters in his eyes from not wearing safety glasses. He said he felt that they obstructed his vision and he

didn’t like wearing them. His main injury is numerous burns almost every day from not wearing gloves or long

sleeves and having sparks go down his shirt or boots. The biggest injury he had was having a lever spring out of

a tank he was joining together and struck him in the temple. He had a major concussion from this and couldn’t

work for a week. According to the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety eye injuries account for one

third of all welding injuries. Eye injuries are also one of the easiest to prevent, wearing goggles and safety

glasses. Most people don’t wear them because of discomfort, they don’t know about the risks, poorly

maintained lenses, appearance, and wearing prescription lenses underneath them. Flash burns are the most

common eye injury among metal workers. Flash burns occur when the eyes are exposed to ultraviolet light

without some sort of eye protection. Flash burn is a painful inflammation of the cornea, which is the clear

tissue that covers the front of the eye. Flash burns are like a sunburn for the eye, and the cornea can repair

itself in one or two days without any scarring, but left untreated flash burns can become infected and can lead to

some loss of vision. Along with being the most common among metal working, flash burns are caused most

commonly by metal working. Pain from flash burns doesn’t usually start until hours after the problem occurs,

other symptoms include watery eyes, light sensitivity, bloodshot eyes, blurred vision, and the feeling of having

something in your eye. Diagnosis requires an eye exam and the eye examiner may use dye to see the damaged

areas under a blue light, anesthetic drops to numb your eyes so the doctor can examine them closely, or just a

close inspection. Treatment for flash burns can include dilating drops which relax the eye so it can heal,

dressing to cover your eyes so they can rest and heal, antibiotics to stop infection, and review in twenty four to

forty eight hours to make sure your eyes are healing properly.

Metalworking with machinery in a workshop is probably the most dangerous kind of metalworking that

there is. Machinery in workshops can tear off arms and legs and anything else that can get caught in machinery

and pulled into the machine or off of your body. Not only can you be pulled into machinery, pieces of metal

called shrapnel can be thrown off of metal and get stuck in your skin. Shrapnel can be removed but it is painful,

and can be left in your skin forever. Shrapnel comes in all shapes and sizes; shrapnel is whatever piece of metal

fly off the metal you’re working on. In order to keep from being pulled into machinery some of the best

precautions are to not wear loose fitting close, jewelry, ties, or to have long hair. Wait for the machine you’re

working on to cool down before approaching it, if a machine isn’t fully stopped it could sling a piece of metal

out, or while you are attempting to work on it, it could start back up and pull you into the machine. One of the

biggest pieces of advice for metalworking is take your time, it’s better to take your time about it and be safe

than to get hurt or screw up a ton of pieces of work by going too fast. Let stuff cool before you pick it up,

metal gets hot when it’s getting cut. Air is another dangerous thing in the metalworking environment, air can

inject chips into your skin, and not only that, it can inject oily air into your skin, and sometimes right through

your skin. Metalworking machinery can cause serious problems, such as straining a muscle, pulling muscles,

tearing muscles, and messing up tendons in your arms and body. As a lot of metal machinery workers get older

they begin to have back problems and many other problems with their body from constantly doing the same

thing in shop all of their life. Some of these injuries can become a major problem and have to be dealt with by

having surgery, and sometimes it’s a problem that can’t be fixed. This is one of the many problems with

metalworking that there is no safety precaution or protection gear for, doing the same thing over and over

again, can eventually wear out your body or hurt you to where you have a problem for the rest of your life.

One of the most important rules in metalworking shops is to not horseplay. Horseplay around dangerous

equipment can lead to deadly situations, and can get someone hurt. Metalworkers have to stay on task and

focused at all times to what they are doing. Metalworking is very serious business and daydreaming or not

paying attention while working can lead to serious injuries. Shop safety precautions aren’t something to be

learned and forgotten, shop safety precautions should be used at all times during the day at work.

New employees aren’t trained enough to start out on their own. Starting out without enough training is

what leads employees to getting hurt. Being untrained on equipment for any job can be harmful, but when you

are untrained on a piece of machinery that can pull off arms and legs or a device that can fuse metal together

you can’t afford to make any mistakes. Being an untrained worker in a workshop type of environment isn’t good

for anyone. Not only can an untrained employee hurt themselves or the equipment, they can also get other

employees hurt. Untrained workers don’t know what to do, and sometimes even worse, what not to do. Being

an untrained metalworker you can get hurt in a variety of different ways. Like if you don’t know what

something is and go to grab for it you can get the sleeve of your shirt caught in a machine and it can either rip

your shirt off of you, or pull you into the machine and kill you. Metalworking factories don’t give enough

training to their employees. Employees get hurt everyday from inexperience, and it’s always the ones that

have been there the longest that seldom get hurt.

In metalworking there are all kinds of hazards. When working with an kind of machinery or any kind of

metalworking always follow instructions you were taught to keep safe and always use all the protective gear you

can. There are still problems with metalworking, even when using all the protective gear and the right

procedures. Workers are still getting hurt from straining muscles, injuring parts of their body due to constant

stress, and improperly working machinery, but using safety equipments can help cut out every other kind of

injury. Although there will always be different kinds of dangers in all jobs, through the proper use of safety

equipment and following the right safety procedures you can safely do almost any kind of metalwork.