Safe distance from welding arc?

[WorriedTex]

I was out for a walk tonight when I noticed a light in a quarry. I thought nothing of it until it stopped suddenly and I saw some red sparks. I immediately thought it was welding, which i'm terrified of due to my eyes already not being too good. I was wearing sunglasses at the time, and after I went home, I googled the distance and it was about a mile at most, give or take about 0.1 of a mile. Was this a safe distance? I probably only looked at it indirectly for about 10-15 seconds.

[Fishmanpa]

You looked at something indirectly for 10-15 seconds from close to a mile away. The answer is in your post...

Positive thoughts

[toddsmum]

Well I did the google bad thing and found



The US Army have carried out trials which propose distances of between 3 and 20 metres for an exposure time of 10 minutes for MMA (SMA), MAG (GMA) and FCAW in order for UV exposure to be below the US daily threshold limit value.

You were a mile away for a max of 15 seconds. Relax.

[Buster70]

I started using welders in my early teens , I was welding most days in my twenties and thirties , I've been burnt by welding in every way possible , believe me you would know if you had been too close arc eye is not pleasant but you would have to be within about twenty feet and looking straight at it , I'm 47 now and just started to need reading glasses so you will be fine . Take care chap .:)

[tn13]

You'll be fine. A colleague of mine who's a welder has talked about welding eye injuries before and he said you would definitely know if you had one within hours. You need to be close to the arc.

[Hypo27]

I’ve been welding for years I can’t tell you how many times I looked directly at an ark. My eyes are still in great shape it takes a lot more exposure than 10-15 seconds to cause damage.