Polytechnic University of Japan, Japan.
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan.
Ind Health. 2024 Apr 3;62(2):79-89. doi: 10.2486/indhealth.2023-0038. Epub 2023 Aug 11.
Blue light emitted during arc welding is known to potentially cause photoretinopathy. To help prevent retinal injury, it is important to identify the hazards associated with various welding conditions. The present work conducted experiments involving gas metal arc welding of mild steel under various conditions, and measured the spectral radiance of the arcs. The effective radiance values, as used by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) to quantify exposure level of blue light, were subsequently calculated from the data. The resulting values were in the range of 5.0-118 W/cm/sr, corresponding to hazardous levels according to ACGIH guidelines. The effective radiance was increased at higher welding currents and when pulsed currents were used rather than steady currents. The blue light hazard was also affected by the type of shielding gas employed. These data confirm that it is very hazardous to stare at arcs during gas metal arc welding of mild steel. As such, appropriate eye protection is necessary during arc welding, and directly staring at the arc should be avoided.
在电弧焊接过程中发出的蓝光已知可能导致光视网膜病变。为了帮助防止视网膜损伤，重要的是要确定与各种焊接条件相关的危害。本工作在各种条件下进行了气体金属电弧焊接低碳钢的实验，并测量了电弧的光谱辐亮度。随后，根据美国政府工业卫生学家会议（ACGIH）的数据计算出有效辐亮度值，用于量化蓝光暴露水平。所得值在 5.0-118 W/cm/sr 范围内，根据 ACGIH 指南属于危险水平。在较高的焊接电流和使用脉冲电流而不是稳定电流时，有效辐亮度会增加。蓝光危害还受到所使用的保护气体类型的影响。这些数据证实，在气体金属电弧焊接低碳钢时，直接盯着电弧看是非常危险的。因此，在电弧焊接过程中需要适当的眼部保护，并且应避免直接盯着电弧看。
