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Welding fume: protect your workers

3. Maintain exposure controls

You must make sure any controls you have to protect your workers from health risks from welding fume remain effective:

  • Follow instructions on how to use equipment
  • Keep equipment in working order
  • If equipment is faulty, repair it straight away
  • Each day look for signs of damage
  • Get a competent ventilation engineer to thoroughly test and examine[5] the LEV system and its performance at least every 14 months 
  • Keep records of all examinations and tests for at least 5 years
  • Review records – failure patterns show where you need to do preventive maintenance
  • Review your controls when anything changes in your workplace

View a printable version of the whole guide[8]

Link URLs in this page

  1. Overviewhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/protect-your-workers/index.htm
  2. Control the riskhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/protect-your-workers/avoid-reduce-exposure.htm
  3. Health surveillancehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/protect-your-workers/health-surveillance.htm
  4. Traininghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/protect-your-workers/training.htm
  5. thoroughly test and examinehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/maintenance-examination-testing-control-measures.htm
  6. Previous page Control the risk https://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/protect-your-workers/avoid-reduce-exposure.htm
  7. Next page Health surveillancehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/protect-your-workers/health-surveillance.htm
  8. View a printable version of the whole guidehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/welding/protect-your-workers/print.htm
  9. Clearing the air: A simple guide to buying and using local exhaust ventilation (LEV)https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg408.htm
  10. Respiratory protective equipment at work: A practical guidehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg53.htm
  11. The law on welding - COSHH https://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/index.htm

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Updated:2025-01-09-->