Stainless Steel & Galvanised Welding Fume
COSHH assessment
A COSHH assessment for stainless steel & galvanised welding fume on a UK construction site: what it does to people, how it gets into them, the controls that stop it, the PPE for what is left, and what to do when it goes wrong. Copy it into your assessment and change what does not fit your job.
Hazards to health
Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI), lung cancer, asthma, sinonasal cancer (WEL 0.025 mg/m3). Nickel, sensitisation, lung cancer (WEL 0.5 mg/m3). Zinc oxide from galvanised, metal fume fever (WEL 5 mg/m3 fume). Manganese, neurological effects (WEL 0.05 mg/m3 respirable).
Routes of exposure
Inhalation
Control measures
- Always considered higher-risk than mild steel, LEV at point of arc is mandatory and a PAPR is the default RPE.
- Strip galvanising back 100mm from the joint where possible.
- Confined space welding requires forced ventilation plus airfed RPE.
- Air monitoring against substance-specific WELs.
- Health surveillance with lung function and biological monitoring (blood/urine Cr).
PPE for what is left
- Powered airfed welding helmet (TH3), minimum standard.
- P3 filter half-mask only as fallback for very short tasks, FR overalls, Welding gauntlets, Eye protection under helmet for grinding
Emergency procedures
- Move to fresh air immediately.
- Metal fume fever (delayed 4-12 hrs): GP same day, fluids, rest.
- Persistent cough/wheeze post-exposure: A&E.
- Report all exposures to occupational health for biological monitoring within 48 hrs.
Questions people ask
Do I need a COSHH assessment for stainless steel & galvanised welding fume?
If the substance is hazardous to health and your work exposes people to it, yes. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, regulation 6, require a suitable and sufficient assessment before the work starts, with the significant findings recorded if you employ five or more. The safety data sheet is an input to the assessment, not a substitute for it. Guidance, not legal advice.
What is the difference between a safety data sheet and a COSHH assessment?
The data sheet is the manufacturer describing the product in general. The assessment is you describing how your people use it on your job: how much, how often, for how long, in what ventilation, with what controls. Two firms using the same tin can have very different assessments.
What is a WEL?
A Workplace Exposure Limit, the maximum airborne concentration averaged over a reference period, set in HSE document EH40. For this substance: WEL 0.
Is PPE enough?
No. COSHH puts PPE last: eliminate the substance, substitute for something less harmful, control at source with ventilation and enclosure, then organise the work to reduce exposure, and only then PPE for what is left. An assessment that jumps straight to gloves and a mask is the kind an inspector questions. Guidance, not legal advice.
How often should it be reviewed?
When the product, the method, the quantities or the people change, if there is any sign the controls are not working, and at least every year or so regardless. Health surveillance may be required where exposure could cause an identifiable disease, such as dermatitis or occupational asthma.
The COSHH assessment writes itself
Pick the substance in the SiteLynx RAMS editor and the COSHH assessment fills in with the hazards, controls and PPE, alongside the HAVS and noise assessments for the tools you chose. Signed on site on a phone. 14 days free.
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