Welding Cutting Fumes. Welding and cutting activities can generate gases that are hazardous to health. Fumes are created during the welding process in the form of fine particles after the metal you are working on gets heated above its boiling point and starts to release vapors.
Welding fumes are a mixture of metallic oxides silicates and fluorides. OSHA formerly had no limit for exposure to welding fumes which are defined as fumes that are generated by the manual metal arc or oxy-acetylene welding of iron mild steel or aluminum. Gases some of which may be hazardous are inherent in some processes either as a shielding gas to protect the molten weld pool against atmospheric.
Electric arc gas and thermit.
Fumes are formed when a metal is heated above its boiling point and its vapours condense into very fine particles solid particulates. Welding cutting and brazing operations produce mixtures of gases fumes and smoke of which the composition will depend on a number of factors such as base metal welding temperature type of electrode and flux metal covering contamination shielding gases etc. Welding fumes are a complex mixture of metallic oxides silicates and fluorides. The health effects of welding brazing and cutting exposures are difficult to list.