Mild Steel Welding Fumes

It has been shown that nonsmokers produce about 50% more sperm than smokers and that sperm concentrations are 37% higher in nonsmokers than in smokers. I79 80  

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Fumes from welding mild steel can reasonably be expected to include vapors and particulates of the earlier list as well as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, fluorides, oxides of nitrogen, and ozone [78], Welders of mild steel, but not stainless steel, have been found to have reduced semen quality and decreased fecundity compared with non-welders [79], Welders are exposed to complex chemical mixtures that act via an unknown mechanism. It is interesting to note that one might have expected stainless steel welders to have a more adverse reaction due to the presence of chromium, which is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, but this is not the case. 

Hewett P. The particle size distribution, density, and specific surface area of welding fumes from SMAW and GMAW mild and stainless steel consumables. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 1955 6 128-135. 

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