User-agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0 (Windows/20041206)
What are actual health hazards of soldering with Sn-Pb solder? Do you
know about suitable homemade measure to prevent Pb contamination of the
solderer's organism? Is there Pb in the soldering fumes?
I thought the push for lead-free was more to avoid filling landfills
with circuit boards containing lead than to protect assemblers.
I keep the soldering station and tools contained in a designated place
(not the kitchen table!). Also I always wash with soap and water
immediately after doing any soldering. I don't eat while soldering and
if I were a smoker I wouldn't smoke either while soldering (hand to
mouth contact).
I'm probably more concerned with the fumes from the core than the lead
but this may be misguided. You can buy small bench top air filters
which you place near what you're soldering. They provide a bit of a
down draft and supposedly filter the fumes. I don't know how effective
they actually are medically, but I do find that they make the soldering
experience a little more pleasant from a subjective point of view.