Is soldering harmful?

T

Techx

Supreme [H]ardness
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Dec 30, 2002
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I really want to get a new iron for some projects but I keep seeing all these warnings on solder about it causing cancer and birth defects and all this crap, whats the deal with this? Is it like, if you spend 10 years inhaling the fumes you might get cancer, or is it really toxic stuff? Or am I being too paranoid? :p :D
 
Many educational centres, even some countries, have banned lead-containing solders and solder fluxes containing resin and/or halides are frowned upon. Fear of litigation is one reason for schools and industry to change.

Main snag is the substitutes are rarely as good as the old-fashioned stuff and cost a lot more. :(

Don't worry about it, the end of the world is nigh anyway. :cool:
 
Good 'ole 63/37 is the best... and it is toxic. However, that's what they have fume extractors for.
 
Originally posted by cpemma
Many educational centres, even some countries, have banned lead-containing solders and solder fluxes containing resin and/or halides are frowned upon. Fear of litigation is one reason for schools and industry to change.

Main snag is the substitutes are rarely as good as the old-fashioned stuff and cost a lot more. :(

Don't worry about it, the end of the world is nigh anyway. :cool:
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So are there some solders that don't have lead in them that still work well? I wouldn't mind giving up all of my lead solder.
 
Also if you do developing of pcb's the developer causes cancer..
fume extractors, vet hoods, what ever is alwasy a good idea to use if you can..
 
Originally posted by NleahciM
I wouldn't mind giving up all of my lead solder.
Click to expand...

Yes you would. Lead free sucks ass.


These warnings are on everything. Ever look at the back of a bag of play sand or read a sweet n low packet?

Refrain from eathing the soilder and you should be fine.
 
just remember to only solder in a well ventalated area. if you happen to solder a lot, wear a mask or buy a fume extractor. for PCB fab, i would recommend to always wear a mask.
 
Originally posted by Tai-Pan
Yes you would. Lead free sucks ass.
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Silver solder's pretty good, it behaves much like regular 47/63. But it costs a fortune!

There's other kinds of lead-free solder available, but generally they require particularly nasty fluxes to use (which aren't exactly environmentally conscious themselves) and don't really work all that well. We're investigating the whole lead-free thing at work, and so far the best luck we've had with surface mount involves using conductive glue instead of solder.

Soldering itself isn't much of a problem - when you solder a joint, lead doesn't go anywhere but flux vapour does. When I solder, I relax for a while and hold my breath, and solder for about 45 seconds. I turn around and breathe, and then resume. It's probably not as good as using a fume extractor, but at least i'm not inhaling the stuff directly.
 
Originally posted by gee
...When I solder, I relax for a while and hold my breath, and solder for about 45 seconds. I turn around and breathe, and then resume.
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I usually just smoke a fag, so any fumes have to come through the filter tip. :D
 
i use lead based solder in my bedroom for extended periods of time with my face right over it inhaling it all.

probably not the safest thing to do, but i'm not retarded yet... so meh.
 
Originally posted by plot
i use lead based solder in my bedroom for extended periods of time with my face right over it inhaling it all.

probably not the safest thing to do, but i'm not retarded yet... so meh.
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Of course, that's probably similar to what the guys said who were spraying agent orange, ddt or installing asbestos insulation.

I think soldering's pretty safe as long as you have some decent ventilation.
 
A tiny little fan near your work surface to blow away the smoke from the rosin/flux makes life much more pleasant. Be careful not to use too big of a fan or point it directly at the joint, otherwise your heating will be affected.
 
I wouldnt really go and do something stupid like try to get high off solder smoke. I usually dont try to inhale much when soldering and open a window or something.
 
Well getting back to the title of the toppic. Soldering is very harmful if you try to solder your finger, or any other body part for that matter. It hurts like a SOB. I allways end up burning mysef, and then once distracted by the pain, i gasp for air, and inhale fumes. Arrgh. Even if you do ocasionaly inhale some fumes, i dont think it will hurt ya unless you are doing it every day for extended periods of time for 20 years. Then it may be a problem.
 
I typically inhale a small amount of solder while doing work and it really makes it difficult to breathe sometimes. I also agree that being burned is an absolute bitch. There was this one time where I wasn't paying attention to the distance of the iron and my finger while I was applying the solder and they eventually made contact. Now I have a burn mark the size of a dime. :(
 
i just hold my breath while my face is over the thing i am soldering and let the fumes just go by and then i back away and breathe.
 
I've been doing electronic repair for a living since 1973 and have a Mil Spec 2000 soldering certificate I work for the US Army and we have all the Haz Mat classses and all but I can't tell it's bothered me.

73's
Dan
 
I found something or other at radioshack that was quite tolerable, unfortunately, I can't remember what it is, and I'm addicted to that clear flux stuff as it not only seems to be cleaner looking like the ad says, but it just seems to make less mess. Oh well, so far the worst thing I've had in my life time was gall stones which I would imagine is a pretty far cry from a cancer and not only that I doubt you'd get cancer there from soldering. I guess my room is basically well ventilated, but I don't have a fan running all the time and I definitely don't have any kind of fume extractors. Then again, I usually solder at my desk, which is near to my computer, which has a 4" fan running 24/7 on the side as well as the two normal fans in the front. So that may be enough ventilation to keep me from visiting the hospital for all I know.

BTW, about burning yourself, I once droped a positively gigantic glob on myself. I have a scar to prove it. d-: Definitely be careful, hehe. It's just absolutely amazing how much heat that stuff can absorb and then so gladly let out all at once on you. Oh, and shake it off, don't do what I did and reach for it to pull it off..... Lol.
 
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