Welding is a vital component of our economy and plays an integral role in the products and services comprising fifty percent of the gross national product of the U.S.

Welding products have a long track record of safety. There is simply no causal link between mild steel welding and Parkinson’s disease or Parkinson's-like movement disorders and the welding defendants will continue to defend themselves vigorously against these baseless suits.

Juries across the country have overwhelmingly rejected these claims. Most recently, a jury in the Parish of Orleans, Louisiana returned four unanimous defense verdicts in the Andre/Barras case. See further information on verdicts in the litigation. Defendants believe that the thousands of cases that have been dismissed, and the rapidly shrinking number of outstanding claims, are an even better indicator of the merits of this litigation.

Since January 2006, plaintiffs’ counsel have moved to dismiss more than 4,000 claims in the federal multidistrict proceeding (MDL) following plaintiffs’ acknowledgment that 40 percent of their federal court clients were never diagnosed with any neurological condition and 70 percent of these allegedly sick claimants never sought medical treatment. Over the last two-and-a-half years, the total number of pending welding fume cases has dropped by over two-thirds.

Most recently, 330 improperly-joined plaintiffs were dismissed in Georgia court. Courts in Mississippi -- once the plaintiffs' favored jurisdictions -- have also seen a particularly sharp drop in the number of pending welding fume cases. For example, over 450 plaintiffs' claims were dismissed in Mississippi in August 2007.

In addition, plaintiffs have been forced to dismiss five trial-ready cases due to outright fraud, three of which plaintiffs themselves had selected for trial in the MDL. For more information, please see an updated report issued by the defendants regarding the current status of the welding fume litigation.

Journalists have also written stories on the litigation in various publications, such as the Wall Street Journal and Forbes Magazine. These articles have exposed plaintiffs' suits as meritless, and in some cases, even fraudulent. Most recently, an April 2008 Bloomberg story details the success the defendants have had in this litigation.

In any event, the most reliable and comprehensive epidemiological studies on this issue continue to show no association between welding and neurological disorders. Occupational and Environmental Medicine Online currently includes results from The Geoparkinson Study, led by Dr. Finlay D. Dick, which found no association between high or low exposure to manganese and parkinsonism or Parkinson's disease. In addition, the February 2006 issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine includes the results of a Swedish nationwide cohort study, which evaluates the issue at the center of the welding litigation. The study, Parkinson’s disease and other basal ganglia or movement disorders in a large nationwide cohort of Swedish welders, led by Dr. C.M. Fored, concludes that welders are not at an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease or other related movement disorders. This study compliments the recent cohort study of Danish welders, and adds to the growing body of scientific literature that demonstrates that no causal link exists between welding or exposure to welding fumes and an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease or any other similar neurodegenerative disorders. The Welding Information Center has issued a press release outlining the significance of the study and its important findings.