Welding is a complicated industrial profession with distinct specialties and skills. For instance, this week’s employment listings on ZipRecruiter for welding jobs in Indiana and Illinois include openings in industries as varied as steel and aluminum fabrication; the manufacture of aerospace parts; and underwater welding work for barge and vessel repair. Job titles vary for these skilled workers; examples include:
- Automotive Welder
- Aviation Welder
- Certified Welder
- Government Welder
- Military Welder
- Oilfield Welder
- Pipeline Welder
- Power Plant Welder
- Railroad Welder
- Relocation Welder
- Traveling Welder.
Across all these industrial job posts, all welders are skilled in one of two types of welder specialties. Welding involves either heat by itself, called “fusion welding,” or it combines heat with pressure, called “pressure welding.”
Welding gets its heat from one of three sources: (1) electric arc; (2) gas; or (3) thermit. Most welders are involved in fusion welding with an electric arc, where the electricity melts the target metals.
Gas welding uses the flame from a burning gas to melt the target metal, customarily iron, steel, or copper. Thermit welding uses a reaction of chemicals to build a very high heat that melts the target metals.
Range of Serious Hazards Facing Welders on the Job
One thing pervades any description of the welding profession, and that is the range of serious and potentially deadly health hazards that face anyone undertaking a welder’s work. All sorts of hazards face the welder during an average workday. Welding operations bring with them serious risks of bodily harm that include:
- Exposure to ultraviolet radiation
- Exposure to heat or flame
- Exposure to molten metal
- Exposure to fumes from metal or gas
- Exposure to electricity or live electric wire
- Exposure to combustibles
Of particular concern is the risk welders face from what is known in the industry as “welding fume.” Welders can be exposed to fumes from metals or from gases which can cause severe bodily harm:
Metal Welding Fumes
Aluminum, Antimony, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Lead, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silver, Tin, Titanium, Vanadium, and Zinc.
Gas Welding Fumes
Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Helium, Hydrogen Fluoride, Nitric Oxide, Nitrogen, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Ozone.
Welding Accident Injuries
These hazards cannot be underestimated in their potential for harm. Welders are at risk of severe physical injuries that can be fatal or result in permanent and catastrophic damage from these on-the-job perils. Indiana and Illinois worksites with welding operations can mean the welder suffers:
- Amputation
- Blindness
- Burns
- Cancer
- Crushing Injuries
- Electrocution
- Irreversible Kidney Damage from exposure to welding fume
- Irreversible Lung Damage from exposure to welding fume
- Lacerations
- Permanent Nervous System Damage from exposure to welding fume
- Overall Bodily Trauma from Explosion Impact
- Suffocation from exposure to welding gases (argon, carbon dioxide, and helium each displace oxygen in the environment and create the danger of asphyxiation).
Employer’s General Duty to Keep Welders Safe from Injury on the Job
Of course, the company, owner, and operator of the job site employing the welder to do a job has a longstanding legal duty to keep the welder, and workers alongside the welding site, safe from harm. See, Hot Work Industrial Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer’s Duty of Care and Industrial Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Serious Injury or Death on the Job.
The general industry regulation for welding under federal law, overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is 29 CFR 1910 – Subpart Q (also see OSHA-approved State Plans.) Within the federal regulations are specific industrial safety requirements, including:
- 261 – Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills.
- 262 – Textiles.
- 263 – Bakery equipment.
- 264 – Laundry machinery and operations.
- 265 – Sawmills.
- 266 – Logging operations.
- 268 – Telecommunications.
- 269 – Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution.
- 272 – Grain handling facilities.
- 19 CFR 1926 Subpart J – Construction Industry
As a general rule, the law requires that any employer of a welder in any capacity on any industrial job site should follow safety guidelines known to keep welders safe while working. Welders should be able to depend upon their employers and those operating the worksite to do things like:
- Inspecting the worksite where the welding will take place before the welder begins work to make sure there are no safety hazards, from exposed wires to floor debris to wet surfaces;
- Confirming ventilation systems are in proper working order (exhausts, fume hoods, etc.);
- Having oversight of the welding operation to protect against smoldering fires or other hazards;
- Having safety training and protocols in place not only to protect against known risks but to minimize harm in the event of welding accidents with steps to take in the event of an emergency.
Welders should also be provided with personalized safety equipment, properly maintained and routinely inspected, to keep them safe while they are on task.
Employer’s Duty to Provide Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
Personalized safety equipment for welders, known as Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), can make the difference between life and death or permanent bodily harm versus recoverable physical injury. The need for the employer to provide PPE to all welders is extremely important. It should include PPE that protects:
- Breathing / Respiration – respirators
- Skin – flame-retardant work clothing, leather aprons
- Face and Eyes – goggles, safety glasses, face shields, helmet
- Ears – earplugs, earmuffs
- Hands – gloves resistant to cuts and heat, shields
- Feet – spats, heat resistant coverings, closed-toed leather boots
For more on individual safety equipment, read our discussion in Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents.
Justice for Welders in Industrial Welding Accidents in Indiana or Illinois
Welders perform a vital role in many of our important industries, particularly our steel mills, manufacturing facilities, and construction sites. Welders courageously face severe working environments with known dangers each day. It is infuriating to realize how often employers fall prey to the temptation to do less than what is required to keep welders safe on the job, influenced to maximize profits by minimizing expenses or pushing deadlines.
Welders can die or be permanently incapacitated from an employer’s failure to meet its duty of care and safety with an unsafe welding job site; improper or incomplete training; failure to repair or maintain equipment; or not giving the welder necessary PPE.
If a welder is seriously hurt on the job in Indiana or Illinois, then there is the legal right to investigate the incident to determine if the owner, operator, employer, or company with a legal duty of care and safety failed to meet their legal responsibilities with the accident as a result. State laws of negligence, product liability, wrongful death, and worker’s compensation may provide legal avenues for justice in the aftermath of a severe or deadly welding accident. In some instances, federal law may provide legal redress for the welding accident victim and their loved ones.
For more, read:
- Steel Foundry Worker Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Construction Worker’s Risk of Dying on the Job Jumps 41% According to New Report
- Railroaders: Railroad Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
- 10 Things to Know About Wrongful Death in Indiana Accidents
- Workers Compensation in Indiana and Illinois: Work-Related Injuries and the Fight Against Corporate Greed
- Lone Workers: Employer’s Duty of Care
- Work Injuries and On-the-Job Accidents in Indiana and Illinois With Federal Law Protections: FELA, Jones Act, LHWCA, DBA.
Welding is a complicated profession with a shocking number of dangers posed to welders during the average workday. Preventable accidents on the welding site are tragedies for which employers can be held legally liable. There are many welders jobs in Chicago, Merrillville, Gary, South Bend area. We hope our viewers in our marketplace find this article helpful. For more information, contact our team today.
