Welding Safety and Personal Protective Equipment
This domain tests hazard recognition and PPE selection for the three processes you will actually run: GMAW, STRSW, and MIG brazing. The exam asks which control removes which hazard, not which slogan sounds safest.
Radiation and eye protection
GMAW emits intense UV and IR. A filter shade matched to process and current is required - typically about shade 10 for steel GMAW at 60–200 A, darker as current rises. The helmet is not the only eye protection: Z87.1 safety glasses with side shields must be worn underneath, because the hood is up during grinding, chipping, and inspection.
Fume and ventilation
Steel fume carries iron oxide and manganese; galvanized steel adds zinc oxide, which causes metal fume fever; stainless adds hexavalent chromium and nickel. Control at the source with extraction, keep your head out of the plume, and add respiratory protection when ventilation cannot hold exposure below the limit.
Shock, fire, and cylinders
The gun and wire are electrically live: dry intact gloves, work clamp on clean bare metal, and no tip changes with the machine energized. Spatter ignites dust and cardboard, so clear combustibles and post a fire watch. Cylinders ride upright and secured, capped in transit, with no oil near oxygen fittings.
Worked example
A tech replaces a galvanized rocker panel. The zinc is removed 1–2 in from the weld zone with a dedicated abrasive - that one step controls both zinc fume and weld porosity. Extraction is placed at the arc, a respirator is added if exposure limits require it, and shade 10 is worn with safety glasses underneath. Each control maps to one hazard; the exam rewards that mapping over a memorized list.
Traps
Synthetic clothing that melts into burns; treating an auto-darkening lens as the only eye protection; assuming outdoor work needs no fume control; welding through paint or coating.