Why Welding Curtains Are Essential for Meeting Staff Safety Standards

​Welding remains one of the most hazardous activities in manufacturing environments. Beyond the immediate risks to welders themselves, welding operations expose nearby workers to intense UV radiation, sparks and toxic fumes, all of which can cause serious injuries if left uncontrolled.

With HSE guidance strengthened in 2019 following the reclassification of welding fume as a carcinogen, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations has never been more critical. For operations managers and safety officers, proper segregation of welding areas isn't just good practice. It's a legal requirement.

Understanding The Risks To All Workers

The hazards associated with welding extend far beyond the welder's mask. Ultraviolet and infrared radiation can cause arc eye (photokeratitis) or flash burns to anyone within direct line of sight of the welding arc. These painful conditions affect the cornea and can occur after just seconds of unprotected exposure, causing symptoms similar to having sand in the eyes, severe pain and temporary vision impairment.

Flying sparks and hot debris pose ignition and burn risks to bystanders, whilst welding fume has been classified as a human carcinogen, capable of causing lung cancer and potentially kidney cancer. Even workers not directly involved in welding face these risks if proper controls aren't in place.

HSE guidance (HSG 204) and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations require employers to protect all personnel from these hazards, including those working in adjacent areas. The law demands that welding areas are clearly segregated and that protective equipment, including industrial welding curtains, meet strict safety standards.

Safety And Compliance Standards

To comply with UK regulations, hanging welding curtains must be manufactured from flame-retardant materials that meet BS EN ISO 25980. This international standard specifies requirements for transparent welding curtains, strips and screens, including resistance to ignition, flame spread and UV light transmission. The standard ensures curtain materials won't ignite under welding conditions and will self-extinguish when removed from a heat source.

BS EN ISO 25980 replaced the earlier EN 1598 standard and sets specific performance requirements for:

• UV radiation filtering to protect against arc eye
• Flame retardancy and self-extinguishing properties
• Optical transmittance levels for visibility whilst blocking harmful radiation
• Resistance to spatter and hot debris

High-quality welding curtain partitions are designed to absorb and filter harmful radiation whilst providing a physical barrier against sparks and spatter. Depending on the welding process and visibility requirements, facilities can specify opaque curtains for complete isolation or translucent screens that allow supervisors to monitor work safely from outside the welding bay.

Creating Compliant Welding Bays

Industrial welding curtains provide an efficient way to establish permanent compliant welding areas without the extended timescales and disruption of traditional construction. Using suspended rails or modular frames, these partition systems can be installed within 1-2 days, immediately creating designated safe zones around welding operations that meet HSE requirements.

For facilities operating multiple welding stations, such as automotive or metal fabrication plants, modular curtain systems enable several compliant welding bays to be created simultaneously. Each station receives its own protective barrier that meets BS EN ISO 25980 standards, creating a permanent segregation solution that protects workers whilst maintaining operational efficiency.

The speed of installation represents a significant advantage over traditional building works, which typically require 4-6 weeks and result in substantial production disruption. Welding curtain systems can often be installed over a planned weekend or maintenance window, minimising impact on manufacturing schedules.

Protecting Workers And Maintaining Compliance

Installing compliant welding curtains demonstrates a proactive approach to workforce safety and HSE compliance. They prevent accidental exposure to welding hazards, reduce workplace injury risk and help control fumes and heat, improving overall working conditions.

The permanent segregation these systems provide ensures ongoing compliance with evolving HSE guidance. Following the 2019 reclassification of welding fume as a carcinogen, HSE enforcement expectations have strengthened significantly. Facilities must now ensure effective engineering controls are in place for all welding activities, making proper segregation and fume control essential rather than optional.

Modern industrial welding curtains also provide sound attenuation benefits, reducing noise transfer between adjacent production areas. This creates a more comfortable working environment and improves concentration in precision-based processes operating near welding stations.

For production and safety managers, this translates to improved HSE compliance, reduced injury risk and permanent workplace improvements installed with minimal disruption. Meeting legal obligations whilst maintaining production schedules represents a critical balance that properly specified welding curtain systems enable facilities to achieve.

Meeting Your Legal Obligations

With strengthened HSE enforcement expectations and the proven carcinogenic nature of welding fume, ensuring proper segregation of welding operations has become a compliance imperative. Industrial welding curtains manufactured to BS EN ISO 25980 standards provide a permanent solution that protects workers, meets regulatory requirements and can be installed quickly without extended production shutdowns.

By implementing compliant welding segregation, facilities demonstrate due diligence in protecting workforce health whilst maintaining the operational efficiency that manufacturing schedules demand.

Ensure HSE compliance and protect your workforce with industrial welding curtains manufactured to BS EN ISO 25980 standards. Contact us today to discuss permanent welding bay solutions for your facility.