In January 2019 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) upgraded its policy on enforced control measures on fumes generated through welding.
This follows an announcement from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), who classified welding fumes and UV radiation from welding as Group 1 carcinogens. Following on from these recommendations Centristic a company that designs, manufactures and installs material handling systems got in touch with Western Air Ducts to advise on their current weld extraction systems.
Although Centristic had processes in place to protect their employees from the weld fumes generated from their extensive weld lines as a responsible employer they wanted to ensure they are doing everything required highlighting the new recommendations from the HSE.
Centristic approached Western Air Ducts (WAD) with their enquiry as they knew that we have extensive experience in fume extraction during our 47 years in operation. One of our BOHS P602 qualified design engineers attended site to discuss Centristic’s requirements in more detail. Although Centristic carry out many different weld procedures, some of the items involved are very large so they needed a system that would enable the engineers to have extensive reach.
WAD designed a 10 arm weld fume extract system that incorporated 4-metre boom extensions each fitted with 3-metre Inteliair® extract arms thereby providing the welders with a 7-metre usable reach ensuring extract provision is able to reach wherever needed. These bespoke boom arms were designed and manufactured in our state of the art manufacturing facility in Frome, and then transported to site for installation. Upon completion the system was commissioned by a BOHS P601 commissioning engineer to ensure that the system adhered to the latest regulations.
If you carry out welding and you are unsure whether what you have in place adheres to the latest regulations please get in contact – Mike Smith, Centristic
