If your days are filled with working around welding fumes, make sure that you have a welding fume extraction system in place. This is because welding fumes are bad for your health. For starters, you have to worry about exposure to manganese, which has been shown to cause serious damage to the nervous system and the brain.
Then there’s also increased risks for manganism and Parkinson’s disease, both of which affect the movement of the body and will worsen over time. Without a welding fume extraction system, you are also in danger of exposure to iron oxide that can irritate the lungs, throat, and nasal passages. It is important to take care of your health for without it you wouldn’t be able to do your job. And to do so, a welding fume extraction system is the key.
Choosing a welding fume extraction system
There are different factors in place when it comes to choosing welding fume extraction systems. Some of them include:
Type
There are generally three types of systems you can take advantage of. There’s the personal protection equipment, source capture, and engineered systems. Personal protection equipment are essentially respirators that help workers breathe, while source capture types remove welding fumes before they even get to the breathing space of workers. Engineered systems, on the other hand, are customized systems built to suit the specific needs of a company.
Filter
Filters act as the first line of defense that workers have in a welding area. The better the filter in place, the better the kind of filtration offered so the better the air quality that workers will get.
Airflow
Airflow measurements tell you how fast the air is moving. Getting a welding fume extraction system that can handle the airflow in your work area will ensure proper fume extraction and filtration.
Maintenance
Like other machines, welding fume extractors require regular maintenance in order to keep functioning as they should. Since you also want to enjoy convenience, choose then a welding fume extraction system that does not require elaborate maintenance without compromising on extraction and filtration quality. Not having to schedule maintenance work often also translates to savings and less disruption with work.
Noise
Welding areas, while noisy, are still work areas. You don’t need the additional noise as distraction so you’re going to want a welding fume extraction system that works as quietly as possible.