Overview
EN ISO 15011-2:2009 - Health and safety in welding and allied processes - Laboratory method for sampling fume and gases - Part 2: Determination of the emission rates of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) during arc welding, cutting and gouging (ISO 15011-2:2009).
This standard defines a laboratory hood technique to measure emission rates of CO, CO2, NO and NO2 generated by arc welding, cutting and gouging. It is applicable to all open arc welding processes and to cutting/gouging operations, with different hood designs used depending on process type and automation.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Test principle: perform the process inside a semi-enclosed, continuously extracted hood; measure gas concentration at a sampling position and the hood air flow; calculate emission rates by multiplying concentration (mL/m3) by flow (m3/min).
- Hood designs: multiple hood configurations are specified (see informative Annex A) to suit manual, semi‑automatic and automatic operations for welding, cutting and gouging.
- Sampling system: short sampling line of small internal diameter (≤ 10 mm) with an inline filter to prevent fume ingress; sampling point location guidance provided.
- Flow measurement: primary devices such as bubble flow meters are referenced for volumetric flow checks.
- Gas analysis: direct‑reading instruments for CO (e.g., non‑dispersive IR or diffusion membrane/electrochemical principles) and appropriate techniques for CO2, NO and NO2 are described.
- Procedure scope: the method prescribes the measurement approach but leaves selection of specific test parameters (welding process, consumables, shielding gas, currents, etc.) to the user so effects of variables can be evaluated.
- Reporting and uncertainty: calculation, test reporting formats and uncertainty considerations are addressed (see normative annexes).
Applications and users
EN ISO 15011-2 is primarily used by:
- Occupational hygienists and industrial hygiene labs assessing emissions from welding and cutting processes.
- Health & safety managers and employers benchmarking emission rates across processes or consumables.
- Welding process developers, consumable and equipment manufacturers conducting R&D or product comparison.
- Regulators and test laboratories requiring standardized emission data to support exposure assessments, control strategy development and compliance evaluation.
Practical uses include evaluating how changes in welding parameters, wires, shielding gases, or base material affect CO/CO2/NO/NO2 emission rates, and identifying process or ventilation controls to reduce fume-related hazards. Note: emission rate data help compare relative exposure potential but do not directly determine ventilation requirements.
Related standards
- ISO 15011 series (Parts 1, 3–5) - complementary methods for fume emission and analysis.
- ISO/TR 25901 - welding vocabulary.
- ISO/IEC Guide 98‑3 (GUM) - expression of measurement uncertainty.
