Manganese welding fumes cause neurological injury

[Mr. Moose]

Here's a short investigative article describing the history of the development of medical knowledge about the danger of manganese welding fumes that may be helpful to some readers.

There's a lot of good reasons to wear a respirator while you're welding, folks. It's not just your lungs that can be damaged...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/...ke-and-mirrors

[WNY_TomB]

a lot of metals are not good vanadium, lead, chrome, cadmium not to mention flux fumes. in the old days they used asbestos in 6010 rod flux.
.
that cheap welding rod that you have no ideal where it was made, can have many surprising things in it you are breathing

[Sandy]

Heavy on innuendo and opinion, light on data.

[HT2-4956]

By way of coincidence....... here in a couple hours I've got an appointment at the local VA clinic for a routine annual check up. When I made the appointment I asked about screening for heavy metals, (Manganese in particular) and was told that it wouldn't be a problem. I'll know more about the procedure for it after I talk to the Doc and will report back on what I find out.

[CEP]

Wait a minute! Don’t you have to be touched in the head a little bit in the first place to ever want to be a welder?

[WNY_TomB]

i have known 2 welders who both had brain cancers. they say tungsten thoriated for tig is radioactive. not sure if brain cancer is more common in welders or if just a coincidence.

[SlickmisterN]

That seems anecdotal.

[Plasma-Head]

@CEP *like*