Welders and labor protection supplies are indissoluble

At noon, the sun burns like a fire. In a building materials factory, Guo Guangxu, a 35-year-old electric welder, wore 2 pounds of heavy canvas protective clothing and cotton gloves and wrapped himself tightly. As the hot welding slag spattered and opened, along with flames up to 3000°C produced during gas-fired welding, the protective clothing was saturated with sweat, and the large beads of sweat continued to drop. Guo Guangxu took off his protective mask and took a rest. One of the burned scars on his face was ridiculous.

In the entire electric welder market, "bottom welders" like Guo Guangxu occupy a considerable proportion. Most of them were employed as short-term workers and were employed by engineering teams or small-scale processing companies. They frequently found themselves at construction sites, factories and street stores. Unlike electric welders who have been working in large companies for a long time, most of them work without a license, skills are low, protection measures are poor, physical health is frequently threatened, the working environment is more difficult, and their living conditions are worrying.

Condition bitter protective clothing 2 kg heavy face 3000 °C high temperature

“Welding suffers from electric welding and welding. The welder is living a crime! It's not embarrassment, it's embarrassment, and sometimes it still has two legs!” These few popular words in the welder industry became Zhang Fan’s mantra. A dazzling arc of light streaked across, splashing hot spatter scattered open, pungent chemical odor and dust drift, is the test that Zhang Fan must bear every day. Even wearing thick protective clothing, wearing a mask, gloves, safety helmets and other "armed", it is inevitable that the arc shot and welding slag burns, leaving one by one on the arm and face scald scars.

The high temperature under the hot summer is another kind of torment that Zhang Fan has to face. In many narrow spaces with poor welding and ventilation, at temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius, flames of up to 3,000 degrees Celsius are generated during the gas-fired welding process, as if tossing Zhang Fan into the oven and sometimes working one or two consecutive times. hour. Zhang Fan said frankly that burning welding must be engrossed. If a failure is caused by a negligence, they must all be reworked. When he first worked in welding, he did experience a period of suffering, but he was less awkward after getting used to it.

The reporter learned that many companies do not require strict protection measures when welding work. Some welders are relatively simple in order to avoid high temperatures. The 55-year old welder Lao Wang is one of them. When Pharaoh was working, he was not used to wearing a protective mask, wearing sunglasses, and wearing very thin. “You can't stand wearing non-heat, but you can't stand it when you are old.” The protective clothing can be said to be “love and hate” for the old king. On a hot day, he put on 2 pounds of canvas protective clothing, so he couldn't breathe. When he wasn't wearing it, the splattered sparks would make him skinny. But between enduring heat and being burned, Lao Wang would rather choose the latter.

The disease is more "If you eat this bowl of rice, you have this disease, and no one can escape."

In recent days, Pharaoh’s eye disease has been guilty. His eyes are irritated and often tears shed. Due to lack of protective measures during the year-round operation, Lao Wang can now only quietly suffer from the sequelae of work. The term "occupational disease" has become a topic that Pharaoh and co-workers often talk about. Arc light can damage the cornea of ​​the human eye, causing electro-optic ophthalmia; strong light, infrared, and ultraviolet radiation when welding, can cause blood, skin, lung lesions; fumes formed by evaporation or combustion of the electrode can cause poisoning, and even lead to "pneumoconiosis "Failure"; high-frequency electromagnetic field will make people feel dizzy and tired ... "Eat this bowl of rice to get this disease, no one can escape." Pharaoh can only comfort himself.

At the beginning of this year, a mechanical manufacturing company in Henan Province conducted occupational health inspections on 203 welders and found that 118 employees had different levels of health problems, accounting for 58.13% of the total number of people inspected. The occupational hazards of electric welding work have become Problems that cannot be ignored at present.

In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the Jinan City Humanities and Social Affairs Bureau stated that as long as each welder strictly observes the safety regulations for the welding and cutting operations in the welding process, the harmful factors in the welding process and the health hazards to the welder are taken as effective protective measures. Can reduce or weaken the degree of harm. Except that workers should improve their sense of self-protection, the unit should also strengthen the supervision of the safety of employees, and organize regular medical examinations every year. Qualified state-owned welders can also enjoy the benefits of special types of retirement in advance for five years. However, the reporter learned that, at present, most “underground” welders such as Lao Wang in society are mainly engaged in odd jobs. The work units are often not fixed. Many people have not been medically examined for many years and are not likely to enjoy special treatment policies.

Department statement

The use of supervision to reverse the transformation of welders

“Some small businesses have reduced the expenses and have indeed employed unlicensed welders.” According to the relevant person in charge of the Jinan Safety Supervision Bureau, welders belong to special industries and have a high degree of risk. The employees must be trained to pass the inspection and obtain the operation certificate. Independent work. However, with the continuous development of industry and the expansion of some infrastructure projects, there is a large gap in the number of electric welder employees, and there are indeed cases where some companies do not have qualification certificates. As electric welders' employees are distributed in various industries, there is currently no concrete data for unlicensed electric welders. However, the safety supervision departments at all levels will conduct safety inspections on business units from time to time. Once violations of unlicensed posts are found, the relevant individuals and enterprises will be ordered to make rectification within a time limit. The safety supervision department hopes to strengthen the supervision methods of electric welders and strengthen the training of safety and professional skills. The shift from bottom-level casual workers to skilled workers will not only benefit personal development but also avoid safety accidents.

Zhou Delu, deputy director of the Institute of Population Science at the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, believes that compared with welding technicians working in large enterprises, they can enjoy five insurances, one payment, regular medical treatment and other treatment, and there is a poor work environment for these workers in the bottom welding industry. Their living conditions need to be improved. Government departments should increase their attention to this group of people.

Keywords: protective clothing protective mask gloves