Calculation of 316L stainless steel metal arc welding fume emissions in ship building

Shipbuilding is one of the oldest production and methods comes from past and continues with development of modern technology. Shipbuilding serves in many different areas such as transportation, freight, defense industry etc. According to growing economies and demand for goods, the shipping industry leads to the same rate of growth as well. Thus arises the need for more and larger ships every day. This demands while ensure more production, at the same time serve a greater damage to the human health and the enviroment. The process of welding manufacturing method is used for joining parts in shipyards. As well as blasting and surface preparation and painting processes are used as the main process. Welding, blasting and painting processes are among the most important manufacturing processes that may be harmful to human and enviroment. Negative effects of welding fume are proven by scientific studies. However, studies about the welding fume formation and fume exposure are limited. Therefore, the calculation of the fume formation rate of welding fumes are important for health of workers and enviromental impact. In this study intended to be measured that AISI 316L stainless steel electrod arc welding füme formation rate which use in shipbuilding process. For this purpose, inside the specially designed and manufactured fume cabin, electrod arc welding is done at 70A, 100A and 125A with 25, 35, 45 cm/min welding speed for 45 seconds and the amount of particles retained on the filters was measured. With these particle quantities, fume formation rates are investigated. These calculations will serve as a starting point for further studies on workers exposure to welding fumes in our country.