Effects of electric arc welding on ventilatory lung function

Respiratory symptoms, spirometry, forced expiratory flows, and the nitrogen closing volume test were studied in 119 welders and 90 controls, matched with respect to age, height, and smoking habits. Respiratory symptoms according to a questionnaire were more prevalent in the welders. No short-term changes of the measured variables during the day or week attributable to welding were found in twenty-one nonsmoking welders. Compared to the controls, closing volume and closing capacity (i. e., closing volume + residual volume) were significantly higher, and total lung capacity and the amplitude of the cardiogenic oscillations in the nitrogen curve were significantly lower in the welders who were nonsmokers or exsmokers, whereas there were no differences among smokers. These findings in welders may be attributable to deposition of welding fume particles in peripheral small airways or alveoli.