To explore the occupational hazards caused by three kinds of welding operations, and to provide data support for individual protection.

In October 2020, the welding fumes, metal elements and welding arc generated by three welding operations of argon gas shielded welding (JS80 welding wire) , manual welding (ZS60A welding rod) and carbon dioxide shielded welding (907A flux cored wire) were collected and measured in the welding laboratory. The samples were analyze and compare in the laboratory, and the differences of the occupational hazard factors of the three welding operations were judged.

The concentration of welding fume produced by carbon dioxide shielded welding, manual welding (ZS60A electrode) , and argon gas shielded welding (JS80 welding wires) were 6.80 mg/m³, 6.17 mg/m³, and 3.13 mg/m³, respectively. The effective irradiance of the welding arc outside the welding mask from high to low is manual welding (ZS60A electrode) , carbon dioxide shielded welding (907A flux-cored welding wire) , and argon shielded welding (JS80 welding wire) , respectively 1 010.7, 740.9, 589.5 μW/cm². The long-wave ultraviolet UVA intensity generated by argon shielded welding (JS80 welding wire) is the largest, which is 1 500 μW/cm². The content of Mn in the three welding operations is the highest, and JS80 welding wire has the highest Mn content of 128493.2 mg/kg. 907A flux cored wire has the highest Ti content, which is 24355.5mg/kg. The electrode ZS60A has the highest Cu content, which is 24422.12 mg/kg.

The intensity of occupational hazards is different in the three kinds of welding operations, so the methods of personal protective equipment, field exposure assessment and health monitoring should be more targeted.

Welding; Workplace; Occupational Diseases; Occupational hazards; Comparative analysis; Protection suggestions