JOEH Special Issue on Welding Available Online

Updated June 13, 2019

The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene has released a special issue on welding. According to an editorial by Editor-in-Chief T. Renee Anthony, the idea for the special issue stemmed from the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s reclassification of welding fume in 2018 from Group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans) to Group 1, carcinogenic to humans.

“Employers should include this cancer designation in hazard communication to welders, but the issue of workers’ exposures and whether exposures to iron (from mild steel) play a role in the development of cancer needs discussion,” Anthony writes. “The goal of this issue is to ensure that the profession understands the current state of knowledge regarding welding fume exposure and health outcomes, including where we still have questions.”

The following articles are included in the special issue:

• Welding Fume Is a Group 1 Carcinogen with No OEL and No Method—Suggestions for a Path Forward
• Influence of Welding Fume Metal Composition on Lung Toxicity and Tumor Formation in Experimental Animal Models
• Workplace Exposure to Particulate Matter, Bio-accessible, and Non-Soluble Metal Compounds during Hot Work Processes
• Size, Composition, Morphology, and Health Implications of Airborne Incidental Metal-Containing Nanoparticles
• Modelling of Exposure to Respirable and Inhalable Welding Fumes at German Workplaces
• Occupational Survey of Airborne Metal Exposures to Welders, Metalworkers, and Bystanders in Small Fabrication Shops

The June 2019 issue (volume 16, issue 6) is freely available on the JOEH publisher's website through the month of June. AIHA members can also access the issue by logging in to the AIHA Member Center and clicking on a link to JOEH.