Strategies for Controlling Welding Fumes at the Source - A Review

Exposure to welding fumes and its related hazards has always been a matter of serious concern. The mass and composition of fumes from welding depends on several factors. A detailed knowledge of these factors is necessary for understanding the mechanism of fume formation and developing suitable control strategies. This paper gives a literature overview on the various factors affecting welding fumes and strategies for controlling it. The paper focus on types of welding process like Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) or Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Flux Core Arc Welding (FCAW), Gas and Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW). The research in the area of controlling fumes at the source has grown rapidly recently. Still, effective methods have hardly been explored. Improving arc stability by addition of materials with low ionization potential to the welding electrode lead to promising new research directions.