Grant: Operating Grant

This study seeks to identify risks to reproduction or health in women working in welding (welder, boilermaker, steam fitter, pipe fitter) and electrical trades. The proposal is based on a cohort that was set up at the request of the Canadian Standards Association's Committee on Safety in Welding out of concern that current guidelines and practices might not adequately protect the health of female welders or that of a fetus carried by a woman working as a welder. The main study objective is to determine whether fertility and pregnancy outcomes are related to welding fume exposure, with the electricians acting as an unexposed comparison group. The cohort has recruited over 530 women welders and electricians across Canada, and has completed follow-up to 24 months for the earliest participants. We propose to expand the established cohort to 800 participants and to collect information on each woman and her pregnancies for up to 5 years, together with information on infertility and work-related ill-health. Our results will help to identify risks in these trades that can be modified to preserve the health of all welders and electricians.