New Weld Fume Chamber Design to Assess HAP Emissions Potential and Promote Cleaner Production

Metal welding is an important production process in many industry sectors including automotive, aerospace, oil and gas exploration/refining/transportation, heavy manufacturing, and maritime. Though welding emissions are insignificant based on a mass basis within the maritime industry, their contribution to the overall risk to human health and the environment is significant because of the high toxicity associated with heavy metals emitted. These heavy metals include Cr, Cr+6, Mn, Ni, Pb and others which may pose carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects to exposed workers and the public. United States regulatory agencies including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), have recently increased pressure on the industrial sector to reduce their annual emissions of these heavy metals. This recent concern from the regulatory commumity has led to increased research efforts to better quantify the actual amount of these metals emitted, and to develop a better understanding of their potential to cause adverse effects to public health and the environment. Welding emission characteristics and quantities depend on a number of factors such a