Plasma Cutting Safety – Welding Protective Equipment
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With the advancement of technology, various welding equipment, as well as plasma cutters, are widely used in the home, shops and cutting industries. The plasma cutter is not only a useful equipment, but can also be a dangerous tool, if proper safety precautions aren't taken while working with it. Hence, the proper safety gear is incredibly important when working with these tools.
As plasma cutters are a common tool used in welding and metal fabrication you will find the safety gear is more or less the same as what a welder would use. This article is all about plasma cutter personal protective equipment, but will have some parallels with welding.
Table of Contents
Risks Associated With Plasma Cutting
These are:
- Arc
- Fumes and gases
- Sparks and heat
- Electrocution
Arc
The arc is a combination of intense visible and invisible ultraviolet and infrared light rays. The produced arc of a plasma cutter is very hot and powerful. The arc is fatal for unprotected body parts like eyes and arms. It can burn skin and eyes, too. It's also a severe fire hazard.
Fumes and Gases
During the cutting process fumes and gasses are produced. Especially, if you work with coated metals, they produce toxic fumes. These fumes and gases are extremely hazardous. They may cause fatal health hazards to the operator and even to the working environment and other workers.
Sparks and Heat
The sparks and heat produced during cutting process is a dangerous issue for anything located near the welding and cutting area. The heat may burn your exposed skin. The piece of the spark may come into contact with yourself, catch in pant cuffs, open pockets or down a shirt, and may cause serious damage.
The eye injury may occur due to produced spark, intense light, and radiation from the plasma cutting process. The hot slag can fly off and injured your eyes.
Electrocution
If you work with a plasma cutter, integrated with inverter technology, you're at a fatal shock risk. Working in the wet environment and without rubber gloves increases this risk.
The Importance of Using Personal Protective Equipment
Whether you're using a plasma cutter for home improvement purpose or in an industry, safety is an essential part of getting the job done.
Potential hazards of cutting with a plasma cutter arise mainly due to exposures to metal fumes and to ultraviolet radiation. The effects of these operations include:
It’s good news that these types of health hazard are possible to control with proper practices and PPE (personal protective equipment). Only using the perfect PPE can protect you from molten metal, fumes, and other harmful drawbacks. As a responsible cutting operator, it's your responsibility to protect yourself as well as others by using necessary safety gear.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) For Plasma Cutting
A number of safety gears are available to ensure the safety of you while working with a plasma cutter.
Let's go through a chart of PPE that summarizes the available safety gears for plasma cutting.
Body Part | PPE ( Personal Protective Equipment ) | Reason To Use |
|---|---|---|
Hea Eyes Face | Keep safe from: Remember, your eyes require added protection provided by safety glasses or face shield equipped with the appropriate lens shade. The operators must use the perfect PPE to protect their eyes in order to avoid visual stimulation to the pupil by the intense arc light. | |
Hands | Gloves | It’s important to wear effective gloves during cutting process. It Keeps safe from: |
Feet | Boots | Keep safe from: |
Skin | Apparel | Keep safe from: Nonflammable and heat- resistant apron and proper clothing protect your skin. It ensures that if any hot slag, spark or other debris fly and come into contact with yourself, the apparel will protect you properly. |
Lungs | Respirator mask | Keep safe from: This type of mask filter the particles as well as the fumes from the air and thus enhance the operator’s safety and comfort. |
Ears (hearing) | Keep safe from: Don't forget to use fire resistant ear plugs if there is sparks or splatter as these may enter your ear and cause harm. |
The internet is a vast library of information.
These personal protection gear will not only ensure a safe working process, but also save your health and life. You should use them while working with a plasma cutter.
