Supervision results of occupational hazards in welding work and suggested countermeasures in Shanghai

Objective To understand the status of occupational hazards in welding work in Shanghai. Methods The occupational hazards at workplaces in welding work from 194 enterprises in Shanghai were inspected and analyzed. Results A total of 699 workplaces were inspected and the levels of welding fumes at 16.9% workplaces were not compliant with national standard. The results of individual sampling showed that individual exposure level was higher than that of the area sampling showed (t=5.86,P < 0.01). The common way of welding operation was fixed on the ground,accounting for 90.6%,and the main job type was CO₂ gas shielded welding. Conclusion Occupational health status of welding work in Shanghai was not satisfactory,which need to be improved. A long-term supervision mechanism should be established.