Working safely with chrome 6 is a shared responsibility for welders, engineers, employers, and safety officers. The previous PEL was actually 100 μg/m3 for chromates (a form of chrome 6), which corresponds to 52 μg/m3 as chromium. The regulation also outlines other requirements to protect workers from exposure. In order to reduce occupational exposure to chrome 6, in February 2006, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implemented a standard, which significantly lowered the permissible exposure limit (PEL) from 50 to 5 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3), as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA). Research has shown that workers exposed to chrome 6 are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer, and welders are the largest worker population potentially exposed to this known carcinogen. Exposure to fumes from welding, cutting, and other hot metal work is a recognized hazard for welders, and chrome 6 has been receiving increased attention from federal and state agencies in charge of protecting workers’ health.
Hexavalent chromium, or chrome 6, is a form of chromium that can be found in welding fume when “hot work” is done on metals, such as stainless steel, that contain chromium. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Other References Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) VendorsĪcronyms American Welding Society (AWS) Terminologyįunding and support for this project has been provided by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries’ Safety & Health Investment Projects. Introduction: Getting to Know Chrome 6 Module 1: HexChEC Exposure Assessment Tool Module 2: Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Module 3: Effective Applications of LEV Module 4: Other Control Measures Module 5: Washington State Department of Labor & Industries’ (L&I) Chrome 6 Regulation Click on the 'collection' button to access the other items. Produced by Washington State Labor and Industries' Safety and Health Investment Project with the University of Washington. An instructor guide, poster and six videos on hexavalent chromium exposure monitoring results, providing weld shops with objective data to evaluate potential hazards.
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