Welding Aluminum Health Risks?

[SnapB75]

I was wondering are their any health risks involved in welding aluminum? I have been welding aluminum for the past six months. I am using 100% argon when welding and the processes I am using are GMAW-P / GTAW-P.

I am doing a lot of grinding and buffing also. I know aluminum can be harmful inside the human body. So I try to use my dusk mask as much as possible. I am in a shop and there is decent air flow through the building. If it is a windy day we keep the doors down though.

I just didn’t know if there are any harmful gases that I could breathe in while welding aluminum. Could argon be harmful at all?

Thanks!

[pulser]

too much argon will kill you, so will too much water.

[Doolittle]

Heres a link to an argon msds:
http://www.beg.utexas.edu/environqlty/co2seq/pubs_presentations/appendixa/Argon%20msds.pdf

There is several more available on aluminum and aluminum oxide (looks pretty safe). I didnt see anything about it giving off any gasses while molten.

[lotechman]

What is the most common element on the planet??? There have been lots of accusations about aluminum causing Alzheimer's. I can't remember where I heard it first :'))
Argon is inert so you cannot be poisoned by it. There are some reasonable fingers pointed at manganese compounds from the alloy but they are small and if you use proper ventilation you are safe. The other concern is Ozone produced in the arc. Again if you use reasonable ventilation there are no problems.

[zapster]

#1 health risk in welding aluminum?

Thats e-z..

when you melt your work into the molten ball..and it lands in your lap..:blob2:

watch out...:laugh:


On a serious note..

Breathing in too much argon will eventually make you short of breath..
its heavy...settles in your lungs...:help:
and an inverted table works wonders for argon removal..(no kiddin')






However..
Breathing in helium will result in "Donald Duck" talk for awhile...



...zap!

[lorenzo]

argon is heavier than air so it displaces the air capacity of your lungs....

[backuproller]

do headstand, voilla, argon displaced by air.

[76GMC1500]

Funny enough, that's what you're supposed to do if you find someone unconcious near refrigerant. You've got to drain it out of their lungs.

[DesertRider33]

I dont know what the dangers are, but I dont like breating the smoke from it. It makes me hack and cough, I feel it in my nose and throat and it gets harder to breathe after awhile. Now I keep a small fan going in my work area at all times to help blow the smoke away. As long as my body is between the fan and the weld, the shielding gas doesn't get blown away by the fan but the majority of the smoke stays outta my face. Our shop had a fume evacuation system but it hasn't worked in years and has since been dismantled, so portable fan is all the ventilation we get.

[SnapB75]

Ok I got ya. If you breathe in too much argon do a hand stand.

[billettbob]

If you enter an area where there is a heavier than air atmosphere and are over come by it because the Argon or ? fills your lungs, you cannot just stand on your head to let it leak out. It entered your lungs with the breathing process which sucks it in with a vacuum. Therefore it must be manually extracted using the old abdominal push method or by using rescue breathing (Part of CPR). I was an EMT for 15 years.
Be careful where you breath. Billet Bob

[mccolld]

Uh, since it's heaver than air, won't standing on your head put your face where it's more concentrated........

[Teddco]

Why take the chance? Your lungs aren't designed to process any metal vapors. I wear a respirator when welding, grinding, and cutting.

[SnapB75]

If you enter an area where there is a heavier than air atmosphere and are over come by it because the Argon or ? fills your lungs, you cannot just stand on your head to let it leak out. It entered your lungs with the breathing process which sucks it in with a vacuum. Therefore it must be manually extracted using the old abdominal push method or by using rescue breathing (Part of CPR). I was an EMT for 15 years.
Be careful where you breath. Billet Bob

I figured that standing on you head would not expel the argon. It was a funny idea though. I breathened in too much argon once. My regulator was turned all the way up when I ran a bead and could hardly breathe. I had no clue what was wrong with me. Once I found out why I was having trouble breathing it was kind of funny b/c I was very gassy for a couple of minutes.:blush:

[Royal Dadness]

I was wondering are their any health risks involved in welding aluminum? I have been welding aluminum for the past six months. I am using 100% argon when welding and the processes I am using are GMAW-P / GTAW-P.

I am doing a lot of grinding and buffing also. I know aluminum can be harmful inside the human body. So I try to use my dusk mask as much as possible. I am in a shop and there is decent air flow through the building. If it is a windy day we keep the doors down though.

I just didn’t know if there are any harmful gases that I could breathe in while welding aluminum. Could argon be harmful at all?

Thanks!

I'm not sure about the gas, but you may have other things to worry about in the grinding area. Take a look at this link http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_216a.html
and make up your own mind.

[12,000 Doors]

All welding can do serious damage to your eyes. I've had more than one friend say the doctor told them they have the eyes of a ninety year old. Be careful out there.