OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to evaluate manganese (Mn)-containing welding fumes' exposure, assess urinary Mn as a biomarker for Mn exposure and investigate the correlation of Mn in air, total fumes and urinary Mn with pulmonary function indices in 118 welders and 37 unexposed controls from two regions in Iran, Assaluyeh and Borujen. METHODS Air samples were collected on mixed...

A recent $1 million award by an Illinois jury to a welder was the first plaintiff victory in a welding rod failure-to-warn suit and many similar cases are expected to follow. In the case of Elam v. AO Smith et. al., the jury concluded that the manganese in welding fumes caused a 65-year old worker to develop a neurological disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease (i.e., Manganism). Since there a...

Tungsten inert gas welding (TIG) represents one of the most widely used metal joining processes in industry. Its propensity to generate a greater portion of welding fume particles at the nanoscale poses a potential occupational health hazard for workers. However, current literature lacks comprehensive characterization of TIG welding fume particles. Even less is known about welding fumes generat...

Resistance spot welding is a common process to join metals in the automotive industry. Adhesives are often used as sealers to seams of metals that are joined. Anti-spatter compounds sometimes are sprayed onto metals to be welded to improve the weldability. Spot welding produces complex aerosols composed of metal and volatile compounds (VOCs) which can cause lung disease in workers. Male Sprague...

welding is one of the key components of numerous manufacturing industries, which has potential physical and chemical health hazards. many components of welding fumes can potentially affect the lung function. this study investigates the effects of welding fumes on lung function and respiratory symptoms among welders of an automobile manufacturing plant in iran. this historical cohort study asses...

This paper reviews studies of occupational lung diseases in Romania in the last two decades. Work concerned with the effects of exposure to textile fibres, irritant gases and fumes in the chemical industry, welding fumes, asbestos, cadmium oxide, and the relation between dust exposure, pneumoconiosis, and chronic bronchitis is briefly presented.

BACKGROUND Welding-associated air pollutants negatively affect the health of exposed workers; however, their molecular mechanisms in causing disease remain largely unclear. Few studies have systematically investigated the systemic toxic effects of welding fumes on humans. OBJECTIVES To explore the effects of welding fumes on the plasma metabolome, and to identify biomarkers for risk assessmen...

this study aimed to develop an index that can rank welding workplace that associate well with possible health risk of welders.welding fumes health index (wfhi) were developed based on data from case studies conducted in plant 1 and plant 2. personal sampling of welding fumes to assess the concentration of metal constituents along with series of lung function tests was conducted. fifteen metal c...

Occupational asthma (OA) can be induced by fumes of manual metal-arc welding on stainless steel. In recent years, the use of special stainless steels (SSS) with high chromium content has increased. This study presents two cases of OA caused by manual metal-arc welding on SSS. In both cases, the diagnosis of OA was based on respiratory symptoms, occupational exposure and positive findings in the...