Investigation on health status of male welders in Guangzhou automobile manufactories

Objective  To observe the adverse effect of welding fume exposure on the welders in two large-scale automobile manufactories.

Methods Totally 3 740 male welders in two large-scale automobile manufactories were studied. Their health status in 2015 were analyzed.

Results  The level of welding fume at their workplaces was lower than the national exposure limit. It showed that 8.80%, 16.8%, 10.3% and 7.8% workers had abnormality of lung ventilation function, electrocardiogram examination, serum ALT and chest digital radiography examination, respectively. The workers less than 25 years old and those with more than 10 working years had the highest rates of dysfunction of lung ventilation, and the workers with lung ventilation dysfunction had a higher level of ALT (P < 0.01). It also showed that the hypertension, blood glucose and ALT abnormity of workers were positively related to the age and exposure time, and the abnormality of electrocardiogram was negatively related to the age and exposure time(P < 0.01 or 0.05).

Conclusion  Under current exposure level, welding fume may still cause workers'health problem. The comprehensive measures at workplaces should be carried out to protect workers' health.