Why is welding fume dangerous?
The smoke produced during the welding process contains many substances harmful to health.
Welding fumes contain heavy metals. In welding and cutting processes, various gases are formed as a result of the burning or evaporation of residues such as welding consumables, cutting fluid on the main material being welded, oil, grease and coatings such as paint and galvanization due to the effect of arc temperature. In addition, as a result of the combustion of flammable gases such as acetylene, propane, butane and methane used in gas welding and brazing processes with oxygen gas, gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide are produced, as well as zinc, copper, depending on the filler material used, fluxes and the main material being processed. Particles and vapors of metals such as , cadmium, lead and fluoride and chloride based gases are formed. Gases, dust and fumes formed during the production process in welded manufacturing workshops and spread into the working environment enter the body through breathing. Some of the air pollutants in question can cause chronic (long-term) diseases, as well as acute (sudden) illnesses, depending on the level of exposure. For example, metal fume fever, which is frequently seen in welders, is generally a temporary illness, but it also helps the development of chronic diseases. In case there are more pollutants in the working environment in welded manufacturing workshops than the allowed concentration and this air is inhaled, according to the exposure duration and intensity; Breathing difficulties, blood diseases, cancer, chronic bronchitis, headache, pulmonary edema, metal fume fever, and irritation of the mouth and nose mucosa may occur. In addition, various damages occur on the central nervous system, kidney, liver, blood-forming system and bone structure, and related diseases may occur. Occupational diseases called pneumoconiosis occur when dust, gas and fumes containing metal accumulate in the lungs as a result of long-term inhalation. While carbon, tin, iron and aluminum are low-risk metals that workers in welded manufacturing workshops are affected by dust, gas, smoke and oxides; Cadmium, chromium, lead, vanadium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, titanium and zinc cause irritating and toxic effects and cause much greater health problems and permanent diseases. In summary, dust, smoke, gas and vapors, which are frequently encountered in welded manufacturing workshops and enter the body through breathing, cause irritation in the respiratory tract and permanent diseases if inhaled at high concentrations for long periods of time, as they contain the above-mentioned chemicals. A similar effect is also seen in the eyes and health problems such as irritation, conjunctivitis, keratitis and allergies occur in the eyes.

How do dangerous particles in welding fumes settle in the body?
Particles 10 microns and larger reach the nasal mucosa and throat, particles between 4.7-5.8 microns reach the larynx, particles between 3.3-4.7 microns reach the trachea and main bronchi, and particles between 1.1-3.3 microns reach the larynx. Particles smaller than 1.1 microns settle in the secondary and tertiary bronchi, and particles smaller than 1.1 microns settle in the alveoli. There are particles of all sizes in welding fumes.

How should we be protected from the harms of welding fumes?
According to all international regulations, welding fumes must be absorbed without inhalation as soon as they appear. It is necessary for human health and the environment that such local suction systems be designed as mobile or wall type and have appropriate filters.
The hood at the end of the suction arm connected to the suction system should be at a maximum distance of 30 cm from the point where the smoke is produced and the smoke should be sucked before it spreads to the environment and is inhaled.
The filters used in the smoke extraction system must be of a quality that can retain the particles in the welding smoke in the most efficient way.
“Local suction” is not possible, especially in businesses that weld large pieces. We cannot expect any welder to move this suction arm continuously during long welding operations. In workshops where only local suction is used, when these equipment are not used properly, the smoke spreads into the workshop environment and all employees are affected by the smoke. As a result, workers in the workshop that received approval from the inspection continue to be poisoned.
Devices that constantly circulate and filter the workshop air along with local suction systems are essential.
Along with these devices, welders’ head masks with motorized filter equipment should also be used by welders.
Aluminum powders are explosive. A suitable suction/filtration system is essential.
Suction from below is not possible in MIG-MAG and TIG welding applications. Since the system will also absorb the protective welding gas in this type of absorption process, the welding quality deteriorates and more gas is consumed than necessary. It brings an additional burden to the country’s economy.
Another application, smoke suction welding torches, can only be used up to a certain welding amperage and at a certain power.

It may be useful in some positions, although not completely. But in general, we do not recommend the use of such products in manual welding applications. These torches can be used successfully in automation and robots.

In order to be protected from welding rays; Welders must wear leather clothing and their skin must not be exposed to this ray.
Welded areas must be divided by ISO EN 25980 certified curtains.
The welding masks used must have documents that comply with at least EN 379:2009-07 standards and must have CE, DIN and EC-Type Examination Certificate documents. Optical classes must be at least 1/1/1/2.

Is it harmful to throw the absorbed smoke out of the environment without filtering it?
First of all, throwing these particles into the atmosphere without filtering them harms the environment. Some dangerous particles contained in welding fumes damage plants and groundwater resources. In addition, these particles, which reach the fan system without being filtered, will cause corrosion and accumulation on the fan blades. In this case, the fan balance will be disrupted very frequently and the suction performance will decrease as the aerodynamic structure of the fan will deteriorate. Except those; It should not be forgotten that there are burns at the points where welding fume particles accumulate.
Another issue is heating costs. Especially in winter months, when you throw out the absorbed air from the east, with or without filtering, you actually throw out the ambient air you heated. This increases your heating costs.
To give an example: An average flow rate of 1000 m³/hour is required in a suction arm. This amount is the ideal ratio to absorb welding fumes in a healthy way. Considering that there are 10 suction arms in the facility and the air sucked by these arms is directly thrown out, you will throw out 10,000 m³ of heated air every hour. If we assume that they work an average of 5 hours a day, 50,000 m³ of air will be released into the atmosphere every working day.
However, if a quality filter system is used, the absorbed air can be filtered according to international standards and released back into the environment, and in this case, a significant amount of savings can be achieved in heating costs.

What type of filter should be used in the smoke extraction system?
Our recommendation for welding fume filtration is that the main filter is at least F9 (EN779:2012), ISO ePM1 85% (ISO 16890). If you choose to have a “cleanable cartridge filter” when choosing your system, the filter life will be longer. Thus, operating costs will also decrease. If you buy a model with automatic cleaning, you can get more efficiency from the filter. The investment cost may be high, but it saves on operating costs.

Should an active carbon filter be used?
Activated carbon filters are useful for trapping gas and odor molecules. After the main filtration, the air cleaned from particles is passed through an activated carbon filter, which retains the gas molecules. However, fiber filters impregnated with activated carbon water are mostly used in the market. These filters lose their function in a very short time. Our recommendation is to use a granular activated carbon filter. It should not be forgotten that; Not every activated carbon retains every gas molecule. The correct type and amount of activated carbon granules should be selected according to the type of gas and odor.

Should the system we purchase be W3 certified?
The German Institute for Occupational Safety (IFA) has divided welding fumes into 3 classes according to their harmful content. Fumes arising from the welding of unalloyed or low alloyed metals are classified as W1, fumes arising from the welding of metals containing between 5% and 30% chromium and nickel alloys are classified as W2, and fumes arising from the welding of metals containing more than 30% chromium and nickel are classified as W3.
Manufacturers of welding fume extraction systems can obtain W2 and 7 or W3 certificates for their products by taking IFA tests. But unfortunately, this certification process cannot be realized in our country. The process of sending the products to Germany IFA laboratories and certifying them is both very long and very costly.
Welding fume extraction systems produced in accordance with the ISO 21904-4:2020 standard meet W3 requirements. Avevo brand products are produced according to this standard and other standards.

The smoke absorber I bought lost its suction power after a while. What can I do
First of all, if it is a product with a cleanable filter, you must clean the filter frequently and properly, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. If it is a product with automatic cleaning, there may be a problem with the cleaning system, a problem with the compressed air supply, or the filter has reached saturation point and needs to be replaced. If you have a product with a (mechanical) filter that cannot be cleaned, you should replace the filters immediately. If the suction performance is low despite all this, please contact the manufacturer. Other problems may have occurred, especially the fan.

Another point is this; The more filters that are added to a fume extraction system, the lower the suction performance can be.

Additionally, similar problems may occur if the original filter is not used. During the design phase of such systems, appropriate system design and filter selection is carried out by taking into account the flow/pressure curves of the fans used. Some subsequent interventions or the use of inappropriate filters will affect the machine performance.