maybe O/T, but a heath risk no matter what

My dad has been a welder for the last 35 years. I can't say where here in Michigan, but its a large utility company. He welds on underground gas line, he's a pipeline repair welder and has always done VERY well.

Over the last year and a half, he hasn't felt very well. He was having a harder and harder time falling asleep and staying asleep. Then he was having a harder and harder time keeping food down. Then he was having a hard time keeping liquids down. It seemed everything he ate or drink, he threw up. On top of this, at one point he was averaging about a 2 to 5 pound weight loss a week. This was after doctors put him on medication to keep his stomach from being nauseous.

Like I said, this has been going on for a year and a half. He went from being 6' 3" and about 250 pounds down to 180 pounds. And he's still dropping weight all the time.

The doctors ran test after test to determine what was wrong with him, but could never find anything. Meanwhile, he was shriveling up to nothing, and he looked horrible....and he was exhausted all the time.

He finally got a recommendation to see an Environmental Doctor. Within a week, this particular doctor performed the right tests on him to determine what is wrong. He found EXTREMELY high levels of Maganese and Arsenic in his system. All through his blood stream and his liver. The doctor determined the cause of this was welding. More specifically, MIG wire. Apparently, all welding medium has Maganese and Arsenic in it when its burned, or melted. But MIG wire has 2 1/2 times that of stick rod used in ARC welding, or the filler rod used in TIG welding.

This hit home, not just because this is my Dad who is wasting away overnight, but I'm also a welder by trade. The MSDS sheets that are included in ALL welding filler touches base on these facts, but briefly.

Since his appointment with his environmental doctor about 3 months ago, my dad has started getting the shakes......first every once in a while, now its quite often. They came to the conclusion about 4 days agothat he is now showing the early signs of Parkinsons Disease. But its onset is very rapid. They estimate that at this rate, he will have full on Parkinsons within the year. He's 53. Anyone who knows anybody with Parkinsons knows how extremely devastating it is.

He never thought in a million years that what he loved doing was THIS harmful. Neither did his company, or any of the other welders in his department. Since this, they have all been tested, and they ALL show similiar levels of Maganese and Arsenic in their systems. They are all contemplating transfering to another department. Unfortunately, in reality they most likely will all be laid off.

I know this is long winded, and I apologize, but damn near everyone on here owns a MIG welder for their projects. There's a post on here almost every day on which welder to buy, 220 vs. 110, MIG vs. TIG. If you're gonna spend $1000 on a welder, an additional $20 for some safety supplies is a drop in the bucket.

I'm begging all of you who weld....even if its just for a few minutes on a project...and ESPECIALLY if its MIG welding....open the damn garage door, even if its cold out, buy a $10 box fan, and buy a $2 paper filter mask, and use them all. Don't be a stubborn dumbass, because here is a good example of what can happen. Those MSDS sheets we all throw away NEED to be read every once in a while, and thoroughly researched before we intake those chemicals in our bodies.

I REALLY hope everyone here reads this.

 

Fuck,

I'm sorry to hear that about your dad. Hopefully your message will help stop it happening to someone else.

Danny

 

Damn, I am very sorry to hear that. Safety is never off-topic, so thanks for posting this.

 

Wow...sorry to hear about your dad.

I have several friends who have been welding for major companies for the past 15 years...most of the welders there don't wear respirators

Bryan

 

Thanks for the advice. Sorry to hear of how it has hit your dad. If you have any inclination, an herbal practitioner once told me of something called Essiac tea. It contains burdock root. A purifying agent for the body. Just to mention it in passing.
Hopefully you can find something to help his system and get him back on the road to health.

 

Sorry to hear about your dad man. this is something that i think everyone who welds needs to read. thanks for the info!

_T

 

Sorry about your Dad, I just passed that info along to a buddy of mine who owns a welding shop, thanks for the tip.

 

3M makes a disposable welding fume respirator...cant recall the part # cuz i am at home now, but we use them at work all the time at my insistance as I am the safety director. It goes on every stinkin' time i turn the welder on....cheap insurance for a longer life, believe me.

 

Best wishes to your father. I imagine he was usually working down in a hole, a confined area where the gas levels would build up and concentrate.

Everyone on the HAMB should be aware of this! Have fun - be safe.

 

Sorry to hear about your father. Best wishes for him and the family.

I never would have guessed that MIG welding could be so hazardous. I'll be stopping at my local supplier to pick up some of the respirators mentioned. Not only for me but for my kids. My oldest son is 11 and would like to learn about welding. I want to teach him. No matter waht you do in life, some practical hands on knowledge of how to fix things can save your ass, and welding is one of those essential skills.

 

Hope It Works Out Well For Your Dad Hopefully Something Can Be Done For Him. I Cant Even Think Of A Time I Used A Mask When Welding

 

nvrrdunn,
yeah man, find that p.n.! a whole buch of us are gonn be watchin' for it!
R.R.

 

Wow, I'm sorry to hear this. But glad you posted it. I weld all day, but lately my MIG just sets since I've been tig'ing everything.

Is it permanent damage as of now or can he stop and have things get better ?

I hope something turns around for you all.

(edit: in regards to the essiac tea mention above, you might check out Bentonite clay, it's a binder that absorbs polutants and such, heavy metals etc., it has trmendous drawing qualities.)

.

 

ttop

 

Not suprised at all, Blowing my nose after welding was enough proof for me that I needed to be wearing some sort of mask or respirator. And I just weld on my junk, cant imagine what someone doing it all day long is doing to their body.

Hopefully your Dad will rebound and be okay!

Mike

 

I'm really sorry to hear about your dad.

I'd also like to remind you guys to make sure you wear sleeves and gloves whenever welding. Skin cancer is a bitch.

 

Buried a friend last year that was a skilled welder. 30 years at the trade. I am sure the skin cancer he had was job related. A long irritating way to die. He was 62 and looked 15 years older. Pat.

 

I'm also a Union Welder/Steamfitter. I've always been told that stick rod is the stuff to watch out for, not MIG. Aparently, thats not the case.

From what he was told from his Environmental doctor, if he stops welding NOW, as in immediately, the effects might hold where they're at, they also might not...and progress even worse. The levels in his body....the Maganese and Arsenic, they may or may not drop over time. They have no real way to tell if over time, and without welding if they'll drop. There could be enough of it in his system to have built up to permanet levels. The Parkinsons is a done deal. He already has that, so there's no telling over time how that is going to progress. They're telling him to do what he's always wanted to do as far as retirement goals go.....traveling, 4 wheeling, scuba diving, etc....because he might not be able to do these things in the future. The very NEAR future...as in a year or so.

The thing is, its not always the MIG wire, or TIG or ARC. A lot of this is contained in what you're welding on. Old car bodies for example. You don't know what that car or especially truck was used for. Maybe that truck was used for farming where they carried primative fertilizer chemicals and they leaked. Whatever that was, impregnated itself into the metal...and now you're heating it up...changing the chemical make up of said chemicals.

The original, lead based paint that was used on ALL cars and trucks.....you're burning that up too.

I'll be the first to admit that I NEVER for a second thought about these things...and welded without a care for hours and hours. I'd come home, blow the black shit out of my nose and call it a day. Now I'm drastically re-thinking my way of doing things.

There's a LOT more to think about than what's in that welding filler. That alone is enough to scare you, but you also have to seriously consider what you're welding on, and where its been.

 

Dang, Steve,

Sorry to hear this but glad to hear it for the rest of us. I only weld recreationally but I work for an OEM exhaust manufaturer and everything is MIG. We have super air handlers in the plant and we are now building a new plant to contain the tech center I work in. This means I'll see production levels every day. I hope they have good air handling at the new place...I'm passing this on to our safety admin.

 

I know for things like Mercury poisoning you can do Chelation. Maybe you could look into that. A Holistic DR would know. prayers sent from NY

 

I think I am going to get a big box fan to blow the fumes away while wearing my mask and respirator inthe future. Even though I do not weld a lot.

I never knew a mig could have these issues.

 

excellent advice, you want to keep your friends around as long as you can..wear ear protection when grinding etc..respirator when painting and welding, steel toe boots, eye protection all the time..and for Gods sake quit smoking..just went to a funeral of a good friend, 48 yrs. old, heart attack in the bathroom, he was a latex,sculpty,bronze and fiberglas sculptor..his wife complained to us "he wouldn't quit smoking and the closest he got to a vegetable was a potato"..OK I just climbed off the soapbox, nuff said.....

 

I'm glad people are reading this. I am by NO MEANS a health expert. ha ha, far from it. Everyone always thinks of skin cancer and lung cancer first when it comes to welding. Parkinsons was never even remotely an afterthought.

They've got my dad on 2 different meds right now to see if they can treat it. He has been leaning heavily toward the holistic side of things lately though. He's now fearful of damn near any chemical....medicine included...and I can't blame him one bit.

 

Back to the top. Everyone needs to read this. Pat.

 

Our thoughts are with you & your dad...

 

Thaks for writing this post Sled, and sorry about you pop's health. I'm in welding engineering technology classes right now and safety is covered on the first day and that's it. All they say is "Keep your face out of the cloud" I recently started wearing dust masks when I use my grinder. Now I'm going to wear them when I weld too.

 

Aside from a few basics, and the obvious health risks of lung and skin cancer, nobody really touches on the TRUE side affects of welding. They can't. I think if it was made known some of the more dangerous side affects, nobody would weld anymore. Although, everyone on the planet knows the side affects from smoking, and we all still do that....me included!

 

Thanks for the info-hope for the best, some times doctors are way off in their estimates. I hope your Dad's long term isn't as bad as they predict-I have a freind who has outlived the original prognosis on his life by about 400% so far.

 

Jezus... That's horrible. I'm really sorry to hear about your dad. If he stops now, is there any chance they can stop or at least slow down the onset of Parkinsons? Thanks for taking the time to share your findings with everyone else. I'll be sure to take extra precaution and spread the word.

 

They think he could MAYBE slow it down, but not stop it. The damage is done and he has Parkinsons. They're more concerned now in getting his levels down and getting that shit out of his system.

I saw him today, I did some work on his house for him. I noticed a slight shaking in his arms. If he's already shaking this early, I can't see it getting much better.