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Page last reviewed: 07/05/2007
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Welding, Cutting, and Brazing

Welding, cutting, and brazing are hazardous activities that pose a unique combination of both safety and health risks to more than 500,000 workers in a wide variety of industries. The risk from fatal injuries alone is more than four deaths per thousand workers over a working lifetime.

Welding, cutting, and brazing is addressed in specific standards for the general industry, shipyard employment, marine terminals, and construction industry.

OSHA Standards

This section highlights OSHA standards, preambles to final rules (background to final rules), Federal Registers (rules, proposed rules, and notices), directives (instructions for compliance officers), and standard interpretations (official letters of interpretation of the standards) related to welding, cutting, and brazing.

Note: Twenty-five states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans and have adopted their own standards and enforcement policies. For the most part, these States adopt standards that are identical to Federal OSHA. However, some States have adopted different standards applicable to this topic or may have different enforcement policies.

General Industry (29 CFR 1910)

Shipyard Employment (29 CFR 1915)

  • 1915 Subpart D, Welding, cutting and heating
    • 1915.51, Ventilation and protection in welding, cutting and heating
    • 1915.52, Fire prevention. This section has been superseded by 1915 Subpart P, Fire protection in shipyard employment (see below).
    • 1915.53, Welding, cutting and heating in way of preservative coatings
    • 1915.54, Welding, cutting and heating of hollow metal containers and structures not covered by 29 CFR 1915.12
    • 1915.55, Gas welding and cutting
    • 1915.56, Arc welding and cutting
    • 1915.57, Use of fissionable material in ship repairing and shipbuilding

  • 1915 Subpart I, Personal protective equipment
    • Appendix A, Non-mandatory guidelines for hazard assessment, personal protective equipment (PPE) selection, and PPE training program

  • 1915 Subpart P, Fire protection in shipyard employment
  • 1915 Subpart Z, Toxic and hazardous substances

Marine Terminals (29 CFR 1917)

  • 1917 Subpart G, Related terminal operations and equipment
    • 1917.152, Welding, cutting and heating (hot work). See also 29 CFR 1917.2, definition of hazardous cargo, materials, substance or atmosphere)

Construction Industry (29 CFR 1926)

Preambles to Final Rules

Federal Registers

Directives

Standard Interpretations

Hazards and Solutions

Health hazards from welding, cutting, and brazing operations include exposures to metal fumes and to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Safety hazards from these operations include burns, eye damage, electrical shock, cuts, and crushed toes and fingers. Many of these can be controlled with proper work practices and personal protective equipment (PPE). The following links provide information about potential hazards and possible solutions associated with these operations.

Potential Hazards and Possible Solutions

Evaluation

Additional Information

Related Safety and Health Topics Pages

Training

Other Resources

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