Hot Rods Welding Health Risks

I agree we all need reminding once in awhile to not get too careless about a lot of things we do,both working and in our hobbies, and I agrre the OP was trying to warn us of this.
But leaving out part of the story so that many who have done worse without the almost immediate and serious effects it had on him sort of lessens the story's credibility.
Welding as we/I did in an almost totally unventilated shop to the point it was hazy with smoke wasn't healthy for sure, but the effects were nowhere near that immediate or severe as his.
Would like to hear a little more about the problems from welding stainless. I used to operate a boat propeller repair shop as a sideline and welded a lot of damaged stainless props.

 

The only time I got adverse reactions from welding was when I was working on weldment made out of Cor-Ten steel. There are many ways to spell it or write it, Corten, cor 10 it stands for corrosion tensil- But it's a alloy steel where the surface corrosion actually protects the steel. There's a high copper and phosphorus content. I was just a kid too.

Been inside of pipes, tanks, and all sorts of other stuff with out much of a ta-do.
Galvanized stuff as well but you need to take precautions and wear the PPE.

Mig welding aluminum is pretty nasty and when the amps are high it's really bad. My welding instructor told us that the green or blue color of the smoke plume is a pretty good tell on how bad it is.

Satainless steel stinks when you weld it, because of the stuff in it.
it's been shown to reduce sperm count and results in miscarriage or delayed conception.

Cadmium is NASTY stuff if you weld it or is part of the alloy, manganese is also a NASTY thing that's in some types welding smoke. Manganese is the one that gives you the neurological troubles- Parkinson's like symptoms. Also can make you bat-shit crazy.

 

I used to repair shipping containers at the Port of Oakland, and modify them for non-commercial use.

They are made of Cor-Ten. That steel is nasty. I wore a respirator, but I am not sure it was enough.

 

No offence to you Phil, but your head is likely where most peoples are ...as far as "sunburn"..

Any of you out there as old as me? 66..Ok, do you recall bright BLUE skies as the norm, rather that milky blues..And, the sun kinda really "burns" more than the olden days?...Oh, and those "jet trails" hmmmnnnn oh, they claim that is normal ice crystals...Oh, are there any older/retired Commercial Airline pilots in our audience, if so, can you explain the rough estimate on how long, or should I say, how fast those "ice crystals" should take to simply melt and turn to invisible moisture?

Oh, and any of you happen to have one of those big satellite dishes years ago.,..oh, when all the aircraft flights were totally banned for two weeks after the 2001 Tragedy? Hmmmnnn seems there was a broadcast on one channel, on one satellite, showing "temperature raw data" from all over the US, at the NWS stations...hmmmnnnn, seems that the temps rose each day in a very noticeable amount, Until the 2 week flight ban was lifted? Oh, then ask why there are "aluminum resistant crop seeds"?

oh, and any MDs out there, or specialists in Alzheimer's, or the rise of respiratory issues in elders and infants? ...and anyone know about self funded groups doing soil samples all over? What 3 things are found?

Well, beats me, I say it is "welding fumes" like discussed here, or now I think it is perhaps all "hot air"??.

first two early June mid day, last three a wild show VERY early morning November! the most I've seen laid in so dramatically .

interesting that a person can sometimes see two aircraft, at what seems the same lower altitude...and one is clean, and one is not.. Well, I think I will go watch a TV reality show..bye

 

Allways wear protection on exposed skin or later in life you could get skin cancer and have to go through this not FUN burns like hell.

 

I’ve been welding 25 years, most of that for a living in some way or another. The only time I got sick was from welding galvanneal without proper ventilation or respirator. And that just kinda made my stomach sick for maybe 12 hours. I’m sure some day I’ll pay for my career choice though.


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Sunburn I was referring to was from my TIG...I forget things now and then at 78.

 

I developed a dead mans cough when I was in highschool. It comes from deep in my chest. Luckily it`s only about 4 or 5 coughs at a time. I never smoked, nor ever welded. It happens sometimes in restaurants. People ask me if I`m okay. I say yes, had it for 35 years. They suggest I go see a doctor. Good thing that it comes and goes. It doesn't happen to often. Been to the doctor a few times, but they are puzzeled. Life will get you eventually. Live life to the fullest each and everyday. Don`t sweat the little things. But try to take care of yourself.

 

so you guys are saying breathing the smoke from burning metal is bad for you in the long run?

I wish someone had told me that sooner.

 

Turns out living is bad for you in the long run as well


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I wouldn't worry about it. Them ChemTrails©® are gonna get you first.

Don't forget your tinfoil hat!

 

I did some bed spacers once, the guy brought me the tube and these square washers as tops/bottoms, I welded one and it looked a little funny, smelled a little off, so I stopped. turns out he had dug out the square washers from a pool supply dumpster, they were galvanized. just the one weld laid me up a week. check your materials, especially if it is brought to you.

on a related note, tonight I was welding old steel with some pitted corrosion and some soaked in penetrant , 7 degrees outside and I had the garage doors open and the fan blowing at my mask. that one time 12 years ago was enough.

 

I spent 10 years flying fighters, and 30 years with a large airline, and can tell you that contrails are nothing more than the water, a by-product of burning the jet fuel, encountering a mass of air that is saturated or nearly saturated. The combination of the saturation and the - 35 to -55 degree ambient air causes the water to crystalize immediately after it encounters the ambient air.
Contrary to what most people think, air masses are layered, and an aircraft can be less than 500 ft lower than an aircraft making a contrail, and there will be no visible exhaust because the air is not saturated.
If you are in a cold area and want to experiment, just take a bucket of hot water outside, dip into it, and spray it with a sweeping motion. You will see the process of how a contrail is made.
As a fighter pilot, we were thoroughly briefed on what altitudes we were likely to form contrails, so that we could avoid flying at those altitudes.
Bob

 

I'm slightly asthmatic and smoke of any kind tends to bother me. At home I don't currently weld inside because my 80 something year old one car garage is all dry wood that I don't even want to get a spark around.
I'd agree though that you have to know what you are welding on. I worked next door to an AG shop teacher who had kids welding on galvanized wire panels all the time and wouldn't doubt that a few of them have breathing problems from that years later. I mentioned one day that it wasn't real safe to weld the galvanize and he blew the concept off.

 

http://www.freeoshainfo.com/pubpages/Files/Welding/MetalFumeFever.pdf

 

Yes. totally true of a "contrail". As a person fully researches a "contrail" he will realize that they cannot spread so quickly and stay aloft for around 24-26 hours. I am out, I have said enough. I give you honest and sincere thanks for your detailed reply as a very long term, and experienced pilot. Awesome career that you chose!

 

YYYYYAAA I got called out on a welding job years back at a Nuclear Power Plant , Lucky me it was just a mile and a half from my house, I had to weld up old galvanized pipe's down in the place that them fuel pellet's are at it wasn't to bad once I got all the asbestos insulation off .... I just cranked that old buzz box up and burned her right in .. couldn't hardly see out my hood and them breathing filters seemed to be plugging up ...Hell I just pulled them off grabbed my sun glasses went back at it...man it was hot in that place .was down to my boxer's ...then once again luck come my way...water started coming down from them pellet rod things it was making it to hard to weld ..so they said to gather my stuff and go home ......shit I was ready to go all nite...been smoking meth and been up for a few days already.......This is NOT a true story....just saying...
Hey the guy was just giving a heads up on something that he thought was a safety thing...no matter what the hole story is or was he was just spreading the word....of course everyone has a better story to tell and some of us learn from the stupid one's but what ever the case .... I bet he doesn't make that mistake again........doing whatever it was that caused the problem...and or telling or warning guys about it on a thread here..... I kid...... moving on now..... Thanks hope your health is better now....

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yep! no tinfoil needed for that one .
This one? Tinfoil isn't gonna help

 

Yes definitely needed, and others put up different things that are serious INSIDE the shop...ones that most of us never heard of until it was somewhere on here, or the web...or an email from a friend..

meaning the poster here that mentioned welding on a part that had a cleaner residue on it! Who would know that, except for us car people spreading that same fact, on each type of health thread! I think the Hamb! is the First place I saw it !, I believe it was brake clean? I don't think it was carb clean....but I know the first report here said the cleaner was totally DRY! That is scary stuff to us that just had no idea.,..and some of us might be in a tiny workbench room rather that out in the "airy " big shop!

 

Yes, the cleaning agent I mentioned was brake clean and the gas created when subjected to high heat from welding is quite toxic. This has been mentioned a number of times here on HAMB and so noted by those of us who read as well as post.
But in all sincerity, I think it would be great if the forum had a permanent subsection where all these modern chemicals with bad effects could be listed and not be diluted by some of the other stuff that often seems to infiltrate such well meaning and cautionary posts with things like tin foil hats and jet contrails.
Biggest problem is that it would be necessary to find a moderator willing to spend the time to do a bit of research on items posted as to accuracy.

 

I've welded in a shop that was 80 feet long with 14 feet high by 20 feet wide doors at each end. In the winter we would weld inside and when the smoke got so bad that we couldn't see from one end to the other, we opened the doors for a few minutes and let the wind blow through. I've blown black snot and coughed up some black stuff but it never really bothered me. A whiff of smoke from an incense burner at a Catholic funeral always gives me an instant headache. I could never figure that out.

 

Found out about welding galvanized the hard way. Fortunately there were some real welders on the job site that explained what happened and pointed me towards some milk. Still sick for about two days.

 

Don’t overlook Dave's post about brake cleaner.
It’ll destroy your nervous system.

 

There's a lot of chemicala in the plant, shop, garage, shed, or kitchen that are harmless until mixed or heated. Who can say what will be mixed?

Chemicals with bad effects are found in the grocery store, in the water, deli counter as well. Bleach and ammonia together is lethal , Fluoride is a poison, processed meats are a group 1 carcinogen- right along with asbestos, cigarettes and nuclear fall out. Look it up. Your better off eating welding smoke or licking the helmet clean than eating a grill charred hot dog or nice pastrami sandwich. I eat them both. You damn sure wouldn't eat what they fill or pump into some live stock but eat the live stock. We all know anti-freeze can kill you if you ingest it in large enough dose, but a sip with everything should be ok, that's the same logic. How about a nice swig of "Ospho" or a mouthful of acid based metal prep? Crazy right, how about a few drops of it in your coffee? Still stupid huh? Maybe an ice cold Coke sounds better!

 

Chlorinated brake cleaner and heat create Phosgene gas. I had a goofball shoot down a throttle body of a running engine with brake cleaner because he couldn't find the carb and choke cleaner. That was really bad. Phosgene has also is created when refrigerants are heated or burned. This is the same gas the Germans used in WWI. Now phosgene is some NASTY shit and solely responsible for not only many deaths but also fates worse than death- I ask so why is it so valued in pharmaceuticals ?

Wiki

Phosgene is the chemical compoundwith the formula COCl2. A colorless gas, in low concentrations its odor resembles freshly cut hay or grass.[6]Phosgene is a valued industrial reagent and building block in synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds. It gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War Iwhere it was responsible for about 85%of the 100,000 deaths caused by chemical weapons. In addition to its industrial production, small amounts occur from the breakdown and the combustion of organochlorine compounds, such as those used in refrigeration systems.[7] The chemical was named by combining the Greek words "phos" (meaning light) and "genesis" (birth); it does not mean it contains any phosphorus (cf. phosphine).

 

My old boss used to do this, too, all of the time. When I warned him (a highschool expelee, at the 10th grade), he would always tell me to stop thinking that I was so smart.

 

Anybody have the info on silver solder pre-fluxed rod? I always heard it was really "up there" as far as toxic.

if, so, what exactly does it do to humans, like lungs or retained inside in cells? IDK.

 

Post the MSDS.

 

check to see where your welding rods are made .

 

lots of good imfo on here , thanks for posting