S A F E T Y
2020 WELDING FUME UPDATE
If you are involved in the welding industry,
the new ‘2020 Welding Fume Update’
is a must read says Australian Welding
Supplies (AWS).
The update takes a closer look at a 2019 study
on welding fume and lung cancer that pulled
together data from over 60 years of research and
over 16 million people worldwide. It summarises
this information into an easy to read eight-page
document so that welders and those who employ
welders in Australia and New Zealand can make
better decisions regarding welding fume and
respiratory protection.
As you are likely aware, in 2017, the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
reclassified welding fume from ‘possibly
carcinogenic to humans’, as was its position
from 1989, to ‘carcinogenic to humans’. The
reclassification of welding fume by the IARC
was qualitative in nature and was the result of
a systematic review of all available literature
published on the subject. The recent statistical
analysis on welding fume and lung cancer
published in 2019, instead quantifies the risk
of lung cancer, and explores exposure and
effect associations.
The two studies, qualitative and quantitative, taken
together send a clear and important message
to welders and those who employ welders in
Australia and New Zealand. Recognising welding
fume as carcinogenic and the increased lung
cancer risk faced by welders should encourage
the welding industry to introduce or reassess
control measures to better protect their workers.
As well as reviewing the major conclusions of the
2019 welding fume study, the 2020 Welding Fume
Update also explores:
• How workplace exposure standards work in
Australia and New Zealand
• How this study changes what we already know
about welding fume
• What can you do as an employer of welders
• What you can do as a welder
• What respiratory PPE should be worn by
welders”.
Download the free 2020 Welding Fume Update
at https://www.awsi.com.au/welding-safetywhite
papers
THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY:
NEW
Heavy Duty
Welding
Protection
www.speedglas.com.au
3M™ Speedglas™ Heavy Duty
Powered Air Respiratory Welding Helmet G5-01
REN389
38 November 2019
/www.speedglas.com.au