"Veeduber" wrote in message
...
But - I didn't know what other quality might be responsible for retinal
damage - color, frequency, brightness or penetration of the shield.

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'Red Eye' -- various complaints of sore eyes -- is a common hazard in any
welding environment. You may not even be aware of it butarc light can
enter
your eye at an angle and do plenty of damage to your retina at sites other
than
the point of focus. SOP is to block the light at the source -- drape
every
welding station with UV barriers -- or keep the people out of the area.

Many's the night I've laid awake from the "sand" in my eyes. I used to keep
a vial of optical anesthetic handy until my stepdad lost a cornea by
ignoring an irritation. It turned out to be a rock chip scratching the lens.
After that, I'd go to the E.R., get the dye in my eye and lettum look me
over with a loupe.

Another danger from the "rays". Back in the thirties, my dad was
moonlighting at a job doing production bench welding. One day he came down
with a penile discharge. He went to the fire department doc, who informed
him he had a STD and demanded to know the name of his "partner". For once in
his life, the old man had been truly faithful and my mom was given a clean
bill of health. The Fire Department threatened to fire him unless he came
clean about his extracurricular activities.

In desperation, dad went to see the public health doctor who examined him
and believed his story. He asked dad what he had been doing lately. Finally
the story came out about the off-shift job. When dad told him he had been
sitting down, welding at a bench, the doc exclaimed, "What Amperage?"

It turned out that the radiation from the arc was causing the problem. Dad
quit the job and the discharge went away. That's his story and he stuck to
it.

Rich