Metal Fume Fever has been known by a variety of names over the
years, including: Monday Fever, brass chills, foundry fever,
welder's ague, and smelter chills. It's a result, as many of the
names suggest, of exposure to fumes from heated metal. Zinc
vapors are usually responsible, but Metal Fume Fever can also be
caused by copper, iron, and other metals. What we're talking
about here is an industrial disease, an occupational hazard. The
most commonly affected people are shipbuilders or other people
who weld metals in relatively enclosed spaces. Arc welding of
galvanized steel is Approximately 1500 to 2000 case of metal
fume fever are reported yearly in the United States. There are
probably a lot more cases than that. Some sources estimate that
as many as 40 percent of welders over the age of 30 have
suffered from metal fume fever at some point during their
careers. However, incidences have been decreasing over the last
fifty years, mostly due to awareness of the importance of proper
The symptoms of metal fume