Metal fume fever is one of the most commonly reported respiratory ailments among welders and torch cutters. This disorder usually occurs as a brief flu-like illness, beginning a few hours after exposure and resolving on its own after 1 or 2 days. Typical signs and symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle ache and cough (Riccelli et al., 2020). While metal fume fever normally resolves on its own, there are exceptions. In fact, as illustrated in Figure 1, metal fume fever sometimes leads to severe and persistent respiratory disability. Besides metal fume fever, other disorders have been linked with overexpo-sures to welding and cutting fumes. For instance, pulmonary siderosis may result when inhaled fumes deposit iron particles in the lungs. Likewise, pulmonary fibrosis occurs when injury from fumes causes scarring in lung tissues. Asthma, which can be caused by overexposure to fumes, is characterized by episodes of inflammation in the airways. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also associated with welding and cutting, may involve chronic bronchitis (long-term inflammation of the bronchi) or emphysema (a disorder in which the walls of the alveoli break down). Finally, welding and cutting fumes are known to cause cardiovascular disease and cancer in workers (IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, 2018; Riccelli et al, 2020).
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