[Ten Hammers]

Those of us that HAVE welded galvanized over the years will recall a distinct taste in our mouth afterwards. Peculiar taste. Heavy metal poisioning is cumulative, yes. The last few times I have welded anything with a questionable coating ( inc powdercoat, galvanized, etc ) I have either used the shop fan or a shop vac. The shopvac hose can be placed to the side of the weldament and will draw all the smoke ( this is on a table ). I do NOT make a practice of welding plated stuff. I weld for a living and we weld through cutting fluid, mill preservation oil, etc daily. We use fans to take the smoke away from us and still keep the shielding gas ( same fashion I use in the home shop ). We are issued one set of lungs and other body parts. Some are critical, some not. We really need to take care of the critical stuff. In this day and age, some parts can be replaced or rebuilt. amazing stuff this modern medicine. Ellen brings up some very good points though.