Environmental Impact of TIG and MIG Welding: A Sustainability Perspective

This study focused on the extensive review of the tungsten and metal inert gas welding activities, their general methodology and a measure of their environmental sustainability. Also, the study digresses into the environmental impact by relating this to the biological activities in human and the overall occupational hazards. Based on the findings, it was established that inhalation of welding fumes has a great occupational health impact. The parameters like particle size distribution, morphology, chemical composition and surface area contribute to the biological activities. More so, the size of welding fume particles provides a tendency of its being settled in bronchioles as well as the alveoli in the lungs in which there is no rapid clearance of mechanisms. Thus, size of particles and welding fumes are factors for evaluating the impact of (TIG) and (MIG) welding process on the occupational health of welders. Furthermore, the heat generation and fumes occasioned by the welding processes showed that it has numerous effects on energy consumption, thus, affecting the overall environment. these findings provide insights for welding professionals on the need to reduce energy and consumption and fumes, hence, use of recyclable material is important in the choice of welding techniques to achieve sustainable production and environment.