Welding, cutting, and brazing are hazardous activities that pose a hazardous combination to both safety and health, and more than 500,000 workers in a myriad of industries are exposed to these risks. Regulations require the use of personal protective equipment to reduce employees' exposures to hazards of welding. Employers are required to determine all exposures to hazards in their workplace and examine whether protective equipment should be used to protect their workers. Some of the unique hazards associated with welding are ultraviolet radiation (UV) which is generated by the electric arc in the welding process. Skin exposure to UV can result in severe burns, in many cases without prior warning. UV radiation can also damage the lens of the eye, and increase the skin effects of some industrial chemicals. Infrared radiation (IR), produced by the electric arc and other flame cutting equipment, may heat the skin surface and the tissues immediately below the surface. This condition can progress to thermal burns in some situations.

Construction workers are faced with a wider variety of dangers and face a heightened risk of work-related injury or fatality than employees in any other U.S. industry; according to the most recent annual Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the most recent "lost-workday" case rate for the construction industry was 5.7 per l00 full-time workers, the highest of the major economic sectors. The Bureau of Labor Statistic reports that for the past ten years, 9605 people have died in construction-related accidents. In 1992, the number of deaths was 919 - however, through June of 2002, over 1150 construction accident related deaths have occurred. Almost half of these deaths are attributed to males between the ages of 20-24. In 1992, more than half of the construction accident deaths (544) occurred within this age segment.

More than 7 million people work in the construction industry, representing 6% of the labor force. Nearly 1.5 million of these workers are self-employed, and 90% of construction firms employ fewer than 20 workers. Small companies are not as likely as larger firms to have formal safety programs, require strict adherence to OSHA mandates, or provide workers with the safest equipment, such as safety harnesses, tie-offs and lanyards. In fact, falling incidents account for roughly 25% of all construction worker fatalities - and most of these incidents result from the lack of, or improper use of safety equipment. Construction site falls are second only to motor vehicles accidents as a cause of fatalities. Each year, falls account for the greatest number of victims in the construction industry. These types of accidents often involve a number of variables, including unstable working surfaces, mishandling of fall protection equipment, and human error. Studies have shown that the use of guardrails, fall arrest systems, safety nets, covers, and travel restriction systems can prevent many deaths and injuries from falls.

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