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Aluminum welding sickness

2007

My name is Maxine my husband Tom has been a welder many years now . when welding aluminum he becomes sick for days. why does this happen to him and is there any way to prevent this other than not working with aluminum.
Thanks

Maxine Brown
wife of welding employee - Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

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It takes professional medical help and blood testing to answer your problem. Zinc is a problem for all welders (galvanize). Aluminum rarely is. I would speculate that he has built up an intollerance for it. Seek qualified medical help. This will normally be a highly specialized doc, not the family doc, but he or she can certainly point you in the right direction.
The easy solution is to stop welding aluminum before it gets worse.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2007

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I'll leave it to a doctor to determine the cause of your husband's ailment, but in general I can say that many welders tend to ignore the fact that the welding process generates a metal fume which can be a respiration hazard. It is a good practice to always wear a P95 or P100 dust mask when welding. If his welding operation is somewhat stationary, there are also some great portable HEPA filtration systems that are designed to capture welding fumes. To investigate the hazards associated with welding fumes, do an internet search for "metal fume fever".

Jon Barrows, MSF, EHSSC
GOAD Company

Independence, Missouri

2007

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To the lady in Canada with her sick husband. I own an aluminum welding shop. Depending on the company he works for, you/he can buy a welding helmet that has a filter system on a belt. It does an excellent job filtering the dust particles. The only thing it doesn't do is supply fresh air to him. It costs around $1200 US dollars. You can also get a supplied breathing air system that takes air from another location and pumps it into a face mask that you can wear under most welding helmets ($900). I have done a lot of research into solutions for welding aluminum. It's going to come down to how much money his company will spend or how much you are you willing to spend?

I hope this helps

Chad Jazwinski
- Saratoga, New York, USA
January 16, 2012