Brake Cleaner = Phosgene Article
I posted this article back a few months ago down in the diesel forum, just came across it again so I figured I'd post it here. If it saves one person this grief it was worth it. I learned about it in an MSHA class I took for work.

 

Wow... thanks for the heads up. I'm not a welder anymore but that seems like something I would have done. I always used lacquer thinner.

 

Thank-you for posting this. I have friends who weld and will ensure they are aware of this.

Thanks

 

You may also want to post it in the "Garage" forum too (if you haven't already). Thanks for the safety tid-bits!

 

Thanks for the heads up....i've used it just as he has a bunch of times before...we're going to leave this stuck up for a while...

 

Cut/pasted it in the Garage section also. Thanks for the heads up.

 

not an avid welder, novice at best, but is it customary to use such harsh solvents to clean all metal before welding, or just used/dirty materials? the only reason i ask is because i've inherited a Lincoln electric 225 amp arc welder from my late grandfather and am slowly learning the do's and dont's

 

I'm not a welder either, but work for a company who has welders and all of our mechanics can weld also. IIRC its the chlorinated brake cleaner thats the problem. We have since switched to non-chlorinated. I assume you'd want a clean surface to weld on, thus the brake cleaner application. Maybe someone else will chime in as to the why's and why nots.

 

Well, I weld almost daily. Have a degree in welding and fabrication. You want the surface to be as clean as possible. I prefer to use just a wire wheel to get rid of any rust or corrosion. Even solvents can cause imperfections in the weld if they are still present. not to mention, they can cause you to be poisoned.

 

The most likely reason he was using it is that the tanks on trucks are normally aluminum. Aluminum is a very fussy metal to weld if it's not clean of everything. Also, TIG welding is less resistant to corrosion than the other 2 more common types of welding. Most of your common materials weld fine if they have a little grease and crud on them to an extent, but aluminum is the picky one. I know it doesn't say truck tank or anything on there (or at least I didn't catch it) but Diesel tank, road salt and TIG welding to me means fuel tank on a truck, either stainless or aluminum... otherwise i'd just use a MIG and call it a day.

 

Hi, this is mike from Polk City,Florida and i totally agree with this article you posted.Lots of my friend are welders and they always get some problem breathing.There should be a solution for this problem and hope you can research on it.

 

Personally I don't do any welding. As far as a solution the company I work for has switched to NON-CHLORINATED brake cleaner as a preventative measure. I really can't even tell you if the welders are even allowed to use the NON when it comes to welding. We are a very safety-oriented ( construction ) company thats motto is Home Safe Tonight and dedicated to Zero injuries to our workforce which at one time exceeded 2000 employees. A pretty tall task, but we have had alot of success with it.

 

Carbon Tetrachloride (Carbon Tet) will also give off a vapour that when exposed to high heat will turn to phosgene gas. There have even been cases of people smoking after using carbon tet as a cleaning solution and the vapours emitting from their clothes sucked in through the cigarette poisoning them.
Just one of the many uglies we brief new technicians at work on during their intial WHMMIS traing.

 

ALSO BE CAREFUL WITH THE NON-CHLORINATED BRAKE CLEANER AS THE CARQUEST & OREILLY BRANDS SEEM TO BE TOXIC EVEN WHEN WAITING 5 MINUTES TO LET THE VAPOR CLEAR. WE'VE NOTICED THAT AFTER WAITING 5 MINUTES OR SO AND THEN WELDING, THE VAPORS COMING FROM DIRECTLY ABOVE THE WELD AREA CAN TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY AND CAUSE YOU TO COUGH. IT SEEMS THE VAPORS ARE ATTRACTED TO THE HEAT OR ARC AND ACCUMULATE IN THAT AREA. CAN'T BE GOOD FOR YOU! BE CAREFUL OUT THERE AND THANX FOR THE WARNING!

 

Turn your caps lock button off please. Thanks for the info!