1. When entering into various confined spaces such as smaller rooms, sewers, utility chambers, storage tanks, etc it is required to maintain those places. It is a very dangerous work which requires all the maintenance works such as cleaning and refurbishing. The entry or exit area are not supposed to be frequently used by an employee, it is considered a restricted area. Any workplace that does not allow a certain area to be used for entrance or exit even by its own employees is considered a confined space. There are various reasons behind keeping a confined space which normally follows the arrangements set by the authorities. A characterization of the confined spaces has been specified by the body Safety and Health Topics | Confined Spaces, it contains following characteristics: It contains a dangerous atmosphere as defined in the introduction. It has some walls that can suffocate anyone entering or exiting, these walls may be joined inward and get a bit thinner so as to cause breathing problems in a living being. There may also be a possibility of any safety or health hazard which has the potential to harm a living being such as bared wires, indiscreet machinery or heating issues. The ASW recommendations has further enclosed guidelines which include the ventilation process, testing of the air quality supplied, possibility of communication inside the space, possibilities of PPE and rescue teams. But there are many important guidelines which are not recognized by the AWS but well characterized by Safety and Health Topics | Confined Spaces. In these confined spaces for many years regularly there occur some tragedies which have taught us many lessons like confined spaces just dont have 1 potential hazards but there may be found multiple hazards. A good example for the same is existing of a dangerous environment like flammable or explosive atmosphere. Other possible hazards that may be found include not having proper ventilation facility, unwanted and unsafe energy, small walls causing the problems in movements of a normal living creature, various life threatening air contaminants etc. Therefore, any confined spaces must be evaluated by only an authorized person who has a good knowledge about what he is doing. Uncertified or non-qualified person might not be able to do the job and himself get into the problems. The job of an expert in a confined space is to decide by this methods whether the place is safe or not. Any possible hazards should not be taken lightly and accordingly they should be worked with. Providing a confined space entry permit is a legitimate process and this entry means that the place has been thoroughly checked and evaluated by a qualified person and he makes sure that there is no possible hazard that may cause any physical or mental problems for a worker. His goal here is to ensure the safety of the worker. (Reference: textbook, page 255) The AWS requires only breathing devices which are approved by NIOSH/MSHA in its procedure. But the downside is that the AWS has not given any guidelines on other personal protective equipment or safety procedures such as protection to head, ear from noise, safety belts, ventilation enhancers etc. In order to prevent any fatalities one must ensure wearing personal protective equipment and clothing, shoes etc. In the textbook, page 255, it has been mentioned that an organization should post a sign board of caution just before the entry into confined spaces to give them the warning and to ensure their safety by being careful. It is not wise to just place all the equipment just outside the confined spaces but a manager or supervisor should verify those and accordingly place them himself. The principal hazard are atmosphere in a confined space. Many people dont think that there might be many hazards but in reality they have a lot of safety compromises which should not be allowed. Any worker through that space may breathe dust particles which may cause many breathing problems even leading to a significant threat to his life.2. AWS recommended guidelines for protecting from exposure include maintaining proper ventilation system so that fumes dont get inhaled. It is noticeably dependent upon the welding process and for that reason welding fume will always be changing. It is known that this fume is very hazardous and it can cause serious limitations on health. This fume hazard depends upon the various things such as the method of welding implemented, filler metals and base metals used, ventilation system, material used of rod, etc. Using the information, the AWS must adhere to some methods which can significantly reduce the life hazard and protect the living beings through it. According to Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health (eLCOSH), the hazard occurred due to chromium and nickel can be very dangerous. According to them it can lead to potential threats like asthma and cancer. It has also been seen that chromium exposure has the potential to cause sinus and nostrils problems. It can create holes in nostrils. According to the Fiore (2006), a qualified industrial hygienist has the ability to perform exposure testing of any worker to decide whether the upper limit of PEL or the action level is being exceeded. Another solution to solve the exposure problem can be the use of fume extracting guns. These guns are most effective when they are being used in welding in flat or horizontal positions. The recommendations made by AWS are not complete, they should add some of the active programs such as preliminary testing, fume extraction guns, offering respirators of adequate quality etc. to ensure the reduction in exposure to protect the workers.For a professional in safety department, it is very important to first the training to the workers and then run the welding operations. In this regard OSHA Hazcom Standard is a very vital step. The professional should train all the workers and employers about the various hazardous materials there to ensure their safety. The workers should also be told about the characteristics of nickel and chromium and how dangerous their exposure can be. When the training is done, they have an idea of what is in front of there and they can be careful about their job. If I was the safety official I would have liked to take many steps in regard to reducing exposure to chromium and nickel from welding processes. The first step would be to order the cleansing of the entire area including the welding area. If there are any flammable items present, I would ask for those items to be properly maintain a distance with. My second step would be to analysing all the methods available and choosing the safest of all. For example, we know that stick welding does not make as much fume as the flux core welding does. So if I was the safety official I would have asked them to adopt for stick welding. I would use the welding rods which will produce a low fume because it is estimated that nearly 90% of the fume comes from the rod itself. I would also opt for shielding gases and welding parameters to lower the fume production as much as I can. In the fourth step I would like to find out a method to improve the ventilation process in the workers place just to ensure that he breathes normally. In the last step if ventilation doesnt work the way it should I would go for the respirators which have already in conjunction with OSHA requirements. I believe that local Exhaust ventilation can also play a significant role in decreasing the exposure to welding fumes. Hence I would try to modify the process of welding so that the exposure to fumes can be appreciably decreased to prevent any hazards.

3. Thorium (Th) is considered to be a radioactive chemical which has the capability to add any health and environmental risks at certain exposure limits. Thorium has many isotopes in which its 232 isotope is found to be very common. It has many distinctive properties. It is a soft metal which is silvery-white in colour at room temperature. Thorium in its pure form does not lose its shine even for a very long time. Impure thorium can react with air resulting into blackish colour due to oxidization. In soil, rocks and water thorium can be found in low concentration. It is mostly used for imparting bright light in the mantles of lantern. Thorium can also be used for welding rods, as well as in ophthalmic lenses. It can also be used for alloying in aerospace industry. When subjected to radioactive decay, its 232 isotope emits alpha particle with gamma radiation and essentially forms radium-228. When it is subjected to continuous decaying, led is formed. This is the stable Pb-208. One should never inhale thorium dust or gas as it can be very hazardous to health. Apart from this other hazards due to thorium include the inhalation of its decay products, exposure to external beta, and gamma radiation. If it is ingested in the body somehow the within a few days it will be thrown out of the body through the processes of faeces and urine. If there is found continuous exposure to radiation then it can even lead to risk of lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. In its powered form thorium metal is generally pyrophoric so it should be used carefully. Upon heating thorium in air, its turnings burn while emitting a white light. In short term i.e. lower time exposure to thorium can lead to certain problems like nausea, dizziness, irritation of nose etc. Long term exposure can lead to even death of an individual. For making good welds, many people use thoriated tungsten electrodes. If tungsten welding rods contains some thorium then it can create airborne radioactive material due to its volatilization process of tip during welding. This radioactive material can also be produced if tungsten is used in grinding rods to put a point on the electrode. Below are given a few methods to minimize exposure and contamination. 1. From the safety perspective the use of thorium in tungsten electrodes or other welding processes should be avoided. 2. Local ventilation should be setup in such a way that it can clear the breathing zone of particles and fumes while welding and grinding. 3. Personal protective equipment such as a face mask, helmet should be used.4. One should position his head to minimize exposure to fumes and particles while welding and grinding.5. Workers should be given confidence about the operation and told that they are working in a safe environment.6. No information in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) should be skipped, every point should be clearly understood for the selected tungsten. 7. If it is estimated at any level that there may be an exposure then work place controls such as ventilation should be used to control the hazard.

Welding workers, industrial hygienists, safety managers and supervisors would have to implement the AWS recommended controls for thorium exposure. Training and hazard assessment are 2 very important steps towards minimizing the risk of not only exposure but in general as well. Additional steps such as the positioning of head while working and facilitating proper ventilation can also significantly reduce the risks.

ReferencesFiore,S.R. (2006). Reducing Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium in Welding Fumes.Welding Journal, 38-42.Asfahl,C.R., Hammer,W., & Price,D. (2004). Chapter 13. InOccupational & industrial safety health management and engineering(2nded.). Upper Saddle River, N.Y: Prentice Hall.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2012, June 6).Thorium | Radiation Protection | US EPA. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/thorium.htmlSafety and Health Topics | Confined Spaces. (n.d.). RetrievedJanuary7, 2014, from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/confinedspaces/index.htmlWashington Alloy Company (2009).Material safety Data Sheet (MSDS)(Tungsten Electrode). Retrieved from http://www.weldingwire.com/applications/DocumentLibraryManager/upload/Tungsten%20MSDS%2009.pdf