Welding Safety for Welders

Welding Location
Never weld or cut materials near or around flammable materials. Materials that are flammable, or materials that may catch fire, must be moved a safe distance from any operation that may ignite these materials.

Safety Glasses
Welding helmets do not satisfy the requirement for primary eye protection. Safety glasses must be worn under arc welding helmets to fulfill the eye protection requirement.

Contact Lenses
Never wear contact lenses while welding. Contact lenses can literally be welded to your eyes by the intense thermal radiation produced by many welding processes.

Hot materials
Never pick up hot materials with welding gloves. Never touch metal to see if it is hot. Place you bare hand above the material and feel for radiated heat to determine the temperature. Use a piece of soapstone to label "hot" material if you must leave the area before the material cools down.

Acetylene Regulators
Always set acetylene regulators to less than 15 psi. Above 15 psi, acetylene becomes explosively unstable. Always back the acetylene regulator pressure completely off before installing a new gas bottle. The acetylene valve on the bottle should only be opened 1/4 to 1/2 turn so that it can quickly be closed in an emergency.

High Pressure Gas Regulators
Most bottled gases (exceptacetylene) utilize high-pressure regulators. These regulators should be backed off before installing them on a new gas bottle. The bottle valve has a double seat and should be opened all the way to prevent leakage around the valve stem.

Welding Ventilation
Never weld in an enclosed area without proper ventilation. Many welding operations produce noxious and sometimes toxic gases. Never weld or cut galvanized materials without specially designed ventilation.

Protective Clothing
All forms of electric arc welding and cutting produce extremely intense ultraviolet and infrared light that can cause serious burns to unprotected skin. These intense burns are suspected as promoting skin cancer in later years. Always wear appropriate protective clothing including
welding gloves, long sleeves, long pants, leather footwear, etc.

Wire Wheels
A face shield is required to be worn over your safety glasses when using a wire wheel.

Welding Hoods
Inspect the welding hood before use to ensure that the lenses and filters are in good condition, and of the proper shading, for the operation being performed. Never attempt to weld without proper eye protection.