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HEALTH SAFETY & THE ENVIRONMENT
This came at an appropriate time since C-VIII was to hold a joint meeting with
Commission II
Arc Welding and Filler M
e
tals
(C-II) regarding a 2nd Round Robin series on
the measurement of fume generation rates conducted by ISO/TC 44/SC9 for ISO 15011-4
Fume Data Sheets
that underlined the influence of arc voltage being set subjectively by the
welders. The saga of tungsten thoriated electrodes, if one can call it that, continued with The
Netherlands confirming that they had banned their use, and with Japan indicating that they
were likely to prohibit their use also.
33
In review, there was a tremendous commitment by C-VIII to understanding the role
of constituents in the fume generated by arc processes and the effect that the constituents of
the base metal had on causing potential health problems in welders. One mustn’t lose sight
of the fact that C-VIII was also involved in many other safety and health issues, such as the
effect of ultraviolet light on the eyesight of welders. Optical radiation was assuming greater
importance over recent years with the involvement of Dr F. Marini, who at that time was one
of the few medical doctors on C-VIII, in a major French study
Vision and Welding
. Other
issues of importance to health and safety included welders’ exposure to electromagnetic
fields and the classification of exposure limits.
C-VIII explored relationships with other organisations such as
the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) and had
involvement through its members in the Multinational European Project
ECONWELD, which looked at aspects of safety and health in such areas as
ergonomics, smart helmets with sensors, optimum welder comfort, airflow
of helmets, shape and weight of welding torches and gas selection. Welding
fume was important but so were a lot of other safety issues impacting on the
health of the welder that could not be disregarded. C-VIII, in addition to its
wide-ranging brief, was also addressing new areas such as hazards in the
cutting and welding of plastics, fibre reinforced polymers and
the development of a weldable zinc-free primer.
The new Chair, Costa, with a background in welding
engineering, was also to extend the Commission’s interests into
other areas with his work on
Guidelines for Health and Safety
Management in Welded Fabrications
which was eventually
published as an ISOTechnical Report.
34
Costa also displayed signs
of active involvement across the board when he presented
a document on the new European limits and standards
for exposure to fume in welding. The first of these two
reports resonated substantially with similar work being
done by the SC-ENV to create a framework to enable IIW
Luca Costa