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AWS - Laboratory validation of ozone sampling with spill proof impingers

Organization: AWS
Publication Date: 1 January 1983
Page Count: 54
ISBN (print): 0-87171-224-5
scope:

All arc welding operations produce ultraviolet radiation; in turn, the ultraviolet rays with wavelengths <210 nm photolyze oxygen to ozone.1 The amount of ozone formed depends on the intensity of the ultraviolet radiation. Without adequate ventilation, hazardous concentration levels of ozone (i.e., levels greater than the Federal permissible exposure limit of 0.1 ppm) may accumulate not only near the arc but also some distance away from the arc. To avoid exposures of welders to hazardous levels of ozone, it is necessary to monitor the concentration of the substance in the air that they breathe. Air samples taken with a sampler attached to the welder's shirt lapel (a typical location for personal sampling) are not necessarily representative of the exposure of that individual to ozone because he breathes not the air outside in the workplace but rather the air inside his welding helmet. One definitive study of the formation of ozone during various arc welding processes indicated that the helmet provided the welder with significant protection from exposure to ozone.2 For example, concentrations as high as 8.4 ppm of ozone in air were found outside the helmet when aluminum was welded by the argon-shielding technique; however, inside the helmet, the ozone concentration was found to be 0.47 ppm. Because there was no validated air sampling and analytical method available for the determination of ozone in air inside a welding helmet, we modified an existing method and designed a personal sampler applicable to sampling inside a helmet. The American Welding Society (AWS) supported our laboratory development and evaluation of the method and our field tests, which are described in detail in the subsequent sections of this report.

abstract:

This report describes the adaptation of an existing air sampling and analytical method for ozone to the personal monitoring of employee exposures to the substance inside a welding helmet. The... View More

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