The study of the radiological risks of the use of thoriated tungsten electrodes in arc welding is within what is legislated in the Regulation on Health Protection against Ionizing Radiations (RD 783/2001), as established in its Title VII “Natural sources of radiation.”
Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that is present in nature in combination with other minerals such as silica.We find it in the form of thorium232, which has a half-life of 14 billion years. Its isotopes spontaneously undergo a disintegration process, emitting ionizing radiation. 6013
Industrially it has various applications, one of them is in the manufacture of thoriated tungsten electrodes used in TIG welding (arc welding with tungsten electrode and inert gas protection).Thorium is used as thorium oxide and the content of said oxide in the electrode usually varies between 1% and 4% of the total mass.
These electrodes are used for welding aluminum and stainless steels, they can also be used for plasma cutting.
It is important to clarify that the property of the thorium electrodes for the creation of the gas arc is not based on the radioactive nature of thorium nor on the ionizing radiation emitted by it but on other properties such as their refractory nature, they cannot be melted. and their consumption is minimal, but they are weakened by the electronic bombardment of the arc, they must be periodically ground due to contamination of the electrode by the molten metal.
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