
Lead-Free Solder Is Better for You - luu
https://www.bhencke.com/blog/2019/3/15/a-hill-to-die-on
======
docandrew
I never heeded much caution when soldering using lead solder growing up. When
I got to university, the department employed a long-time soldering
professional, with NASA certifications, etc. She was very knowledgeable, but
visibly suffered from what I assumed was chronic heavy metal poisoning - hair
loss and visible skin problems. It was a pretty big wake up call for me that I
needed to treat solder with more caution.

Especially for people introducing children to electronics, make sure you're
using lead-free materials. If for whatever reason lead is unavoidable in a
project, make sure you're using good ventilation and wash thoroughly before
going around your kids after you've handled lead.

~~~
econcon
I am much into hobbyist work, like 3d printing/welding (mig/tig/stick
welding/grinding), laser/CNC cutting.

I use a fume hood, I made it myself using Centrifugal fan and filters.

I thought about using scuba gear for welding, but I was worried about
explosion from oxygen in case of leak?

Then I wear a respirator.

Is there anyway to respirate using a pipe placed elsewhere? Thinking about
having a respirator attached to 20meter long pipe and put other end of the
pipe outside to get fresh air instead of breathing the welding fumes.

~~~
mindcrime
_I thought about using scuba gear for welding, but I was worried about
explosion from oxygen in case of leak?_

FWIW, it's way overkill, but you'd want SCBA (Self Contained Breathing
Apparatus)[1] not SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) unless
you are, indeed, underwater. Of course the technologies are similar (and can
be swapped to a limited degree in a pinch) but SCBA is used when you're not
underwater. Those are what firefighters use while attacking fires, or
performing trench rescue / confined space rescue / etc. and handling hazardous
materials calls.

Note that SCBA do not used bottled oxygen... it's just plain air, but under
pressure. I'm not a diver, so I don't know as much about SCUBA, but I know
they aren't using pure oxygen either, but I think there may be times when they
use a mix that is slightly different from plain old atmospheric air.

An additional note: SCBA are expensive, require maintenance and need to be
refilled with air. All of these things would be a challenge to using one
outside of an industrial setting. The "refill with air" part is especially
tricky, because you might think "I can use a regular air compressor", but you
actually can't, for at least two reasons. One, the pressures needed to fully
refill an SCBA tank are higher than a standard shop air compressor. Two, the
air also needs to be filtered to remove any contaminants - including, for
example, oil used to lubricate the pump on the compressor. As you might guess,
fire departments and other SCBA users buy special compressors that are very
expensive.

And unlike SCUBA, I don't know that there are many, or any, commercial shops
where you can walk in and get a bottle filled. If you had a buddy on a local
fire department, they might be able to get a bottle filled for you, but no
guarantees. Oh, and the bottles also need hydrostatic pressure testing every
few years to make sure they are safe to use.

[1]: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-
contained_breathing_appar...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-
contained_breathing_apparatus)

~~~
dotancohen
Most recreational diving is just compressed air, no added oxygen.

I wonder if, or why, SCBA gear would use different tank valves than SCUBA gear
such that any dive shop couldn't fill one.

~~~
defterGoose
FWIW, nitrox use is pretty common among recreational divers as well, and mixed
gas diving is all but a must for tech diving. 32 and 36 percent O2 are most
common and up to 40 is ok without taking extra equipment precautions.

------
bbarn
After I got out of the military (in Electronics) I did a few years as a rework
tech at a big telecom company soldering literally 8 hours a day. I got really
good at it.

We had very little safety equipment, and used leaded exclusively. Vent hoods,
but that's about it. Many people turned them off because the shake and rattle
of the fans made it difficult to work on precise things like surface mount
components. There was even a big CPU changing station which was effectively a
molten vat of solder that you'd dip all 144 leads into to remove huge square
I.C.s

This was in my early 20's, and I had that job for about 2 years. Despite
perfect dental hygiene, most of my teeth had decayed and had to be crowned or
replaced by the time I was 30. Most people I still talk to from that time in
my life have chronic problems directly associated with lead poisoning (tooth
decay is sort of loosely correlated, and I don't have any other typical
symptoms into my 40s)

All of this is to say, the US Navy barely even mentioned lead safety in
school, and a billion dollar (at the time) company didn't seem to care enough
to train its employees, so the attitude that it's "not a big deal" was well
and alive in the 90s, and I wouldn't be surprised if it still is today.

Also - Why is rosin-core solder so popular? I never used anything but raw
spool solder and liquid flux. Rosin core makes a huge mess.

~~~
foofoo55
The older military and aviation boards we make still all use lead. Changing to
lead-free requires an extensive re-certification process for each board, and
no one at any level wants to do that. Which seems to create a belief that lead
is manageable and okay. Interestingly, the board assembly shop still prefers
lead because the boards are apparently easier to make.

Rosin-core is popular because it's a 1-step process. No need to put on the
liquid, which seems to make at least the same mess.

[edit:grammar]

~~~
cglace
There are liquids that are much less messy than rosin core.

------
leggomylibro
Am I the only weirdo who prefers lead-free solders _because_ they don't flow
as much?

They dry almost as soon as you take the heat off, which keeps parts from
moving off their pads while it dries. And the iron doesn't seem to "pull"
globs of the stuff around as much. I get really frustrated doing finicky work
with leaded solders, but I'll happily do 0.5mm pitches by hand with lead-free.

Maybe it's just because I learned with the stuff?

~~~
KC8ZKF
Try 63/37 tin/lead instead of 60/40\. 63/37 alloy is eutectic, meaning its
melting and solidifying temperature is the same (183C). 60/40 has a semisolid
state around its melting point (~=190C).

~~~
serf
totally agree.

I use kester 66/44 eutetic tin-lead solder on anything I care about.

It's said that light-dark auto helmets make someone a welder nearly overnight;
I think that same way about eutetic solder and soldering, it makes the job so
much easier that the quality of the work skyrockets.

~~~
KMag
Any idea why, if the parts don't add to 100, they don't reduce the fraction in
the solder name from 66/44 to 3/2? Un-reduced portions are handy if they're
percentages, but if they're not going to be percentages, why not reduce the
fraction?

~~~
jiveturkey
because you're comparing it to 63/37\. it's much easier to grok the comparison
when you use the same "units".

in racing, they say to drive 10/10ths. not 1's. for the same reason.

~~~
Dylan16807
If they don't add up to 100, and neither of the numbers matches the default,
they're not the same units.

------
helsinkiandrew
It's not just bad for the solderer. It will contaminate areas around your
solder area (do your kids ever do a project on your workbench?) And at end of
life, lead is a problem in land fill sites and in e-waste recycling.

Indians (including children) desoldering components from imported e-waste have
high blood lead levels:
[https://journals.lww.com/epidem/fulltext/2011/01001/High_Blo...](https://journals.lww.com/epidem/fulltext/2011/01001/High_Blood_Lead_Levels_in_E_waste_Recyclers.909.aspx)

------
prostheticvamp
I think of woodworking as a very similar discussion. People would wear N95s
when working with a shit-ton of visible particulates, but otherwise are
constantly leaving their lungs unprotected. The resultant progressive loss of
long function is pronounced. But try to convince woodworkers that N95s should
be a de facto daily driver. “My daddy worked wood all his life and was healthy
as a horse until the day he dropped dead”

~~~
tibbon
I think too many people (myself included) have thought incorrect things like,
"Ah, wood is natural and can't hurt you". Not that wood is any more natural
than lead, or arsenic. But it doesn't _seem_ bad like inhaling smoke from
things... and yet, it clearly is not good for you in the long term!

~~~
hammock
Don't forget treated wood does have arsenic...and fumes from poly, stains and
varnishes can be pretty bad.

~~~
rsync
I don't believe that treated (or, "pressure treated") wood is produced with
arsenic anymore.

I believe it (CCA: chromated copper arsenate) was phased out in 2003.

I still treat the cutting of, and the sawdust from, treated wood more
carefully - just out of habit - but I think it is fairly benign these days
_unless_ you get specially sourced wood for marine applications ... which is
not what you're going to find down at the local lumber yard ...

------
metroholografix
Tin whiskers are a fact [1] and a reason why military and space applications
only use leaded solder. I want my electronics to be reliable and last a long
time, which is why I'll never use lead-free solder. Leaded solder is safe as
long as you take basic precautions (e.g. use a fume extractor, wear gloves,
don't lick the solder [2]).

[1] [https://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/](https://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/)

[2] [https://www.edn.com/analog-guru-jim-williams-dies-after-
stro...](https://www.edn.com/analog-guru-jim-williams-dies-after-stroke/)

~~~
IndrekR
I wonder why new _" we will all die to tin whiskers"_ articles stopped
appearing 5 years ago. It used to be a really big thing, but now even all the
new military projects are RoHS without any issues.

Did not get your link to Jim Williams article. Care to elaborate?

~~~
potatochup
In my (limited) exposure of products failing in the field due to whiskers, the
mitigations included coating the entire board in some kind of film, and
changing layout to make the board less vulnerable in the first place. Probably
designers just got good enough at that to the point where it doesn't matter

~~~
varjag
Conformal coating is not related to whiskers, it's to prevent condensation
damage in certain applications. Used where it is called for regardless of
solder type.

~~~
strbean
Some of the linked articles in this comment section claim that conformal
coatings mitigate whisker shorting because the whiskers can't pierce the
coating.

------
dmoy
Wow I just realized that I did not practice good safety years ago when I used
to solder stuff. Now I have p100 filters for working with solvents and de-lead
soap and all that.

But that picture of the solder scourer made my brain tickle in that really
uncomfortable way when you realize you f __ __d up.

Now I should go look up whether or not smoke from melting/burning diodes is
really bad for you. Probably it is :(

------
exmadscientist
Just because you can get solders both leaded and lead-free having the same
flux, does not mean that is usually the case. Your typical lead-free alloy
will have a nastier flux. Is this a big effect? No.

The real reason to stick with leaded is simply that it's much, much easier to
use. If you get a joint done in half the time, that's half the exposure to
nasty stuff. For hobbyist stuff, it doesn't really matter. A moderately
skilled operator can do the job about as quickly with either type of solder.
For the really hard stuff, like fine-pitch QFNs and 0201s or worse... give me
63/37 any day. (But only if I can't have a skilled soldering technician
instead!)

------
ReactiveJelly
Reminds me of the post about LED traffic lights.

"But they accumulate snow!"

Of course they do. And that's an easier problem to solve than having bulky,
heavy, power-hungry lights that die quickly.

Having a little trouble soldering is an easier problem to deal with than
having lead poisoning.

Personally, I'm pretty bad at soldering, so maybe it's time to finally swear
off hardware projects.

~~~
StavrosK
How does the type of bulb used affect snow accumulation?

~~~
andai
Incandescent bulbs produce a lot of heat, melting the snow. LEDs run fairly
cool.

~~~
Yizahi
Powerful LEDs also run rather hot, more specifically their power circuits. My
pocket size flashlight would easily run up to 100 degrees I think but it has
protection built-in and steps down brightness when overheated. And it only has
1 LED and 1 lithium cell for power. So it probably would have been easy to
design external radiators for traffic lights internals, with a heatpipe or
similar solution. But they would be more expensive that way.

------
snvzz
I'd spend my effort elsewhere.

Specifically, rather than fighting over which type of solder is less dangerous
to inhale, I'd focus on promoting the use of solder fume extractors.

Even basic models purchasable on platforms like aliexpress, which are as you'd
expect inexpensive, do make a world of a difference on exposure to fumes.

Yet most people solder without these.

------
nrp
I’m surprised by the number of commenters who believe lead-free solder is
difficult to work with. When it comes to soldering, it being easy comes down
to:

1\. Using good soldering techniques and practicing a bit.

2\. Using good quality flux.

3\. Using an iron with consistent temperature control and a tip that isn’t
corroded.

4\. Lastly, the actual solder alloy.

~~~
atoav
I think the iron part gets overlooked a lot, cheap/old irons see a huge
temperature dip when soldering. Leaded solder handles that a little better and
this is what people perceive as "the difference". Once you use propper
technique and a decent iron lead-free isn't worse, just different

~~~
lultimouomo
So what's a good soldering iron for a hobbist? Is the TS-100 that was much
hyped on the internet some time ago a good choice? Or the TS-80 one? Or should
one go for more traditional irons?

~~~
bschwindHN
A Hakko FX-888 or FX-888D is a good hobbyist iron if you're going to be
soldering a decent amount. I have one and it's very much worth the money.

I've heard good things about the TS-100 as well but I've never tried one so I
can't confirm anything about it.

~~~
leviathant
I bought a Hakko FX-888D a few years ago and immediately regretted all the
time I had wasted using crappy irons for a decade and a half. Suddenly,
soldering worked as easily as it did on all those YouTube videos.

I solder so infrequently that it felt like spending $100 on an iron was
overkill, and I couldn't have been more wrong.

~~~
bschwindHN
Same! My first iron was a shitty radioshack one. Shelling out the $100 for a
Hakko is absolutely worth it for the time and frustration savings. I actually
really enjoy soldering with it because it works so smoothly.

My only regret is not getting the analog version because Hakko kinda sucks at
making digital interfaces.

------
mdszy
Why does it sound like so many people here literally eat lead solder.

Practice proper lab safety for chrissakes.

Wash your hands after dealing with chemicals and/or dangerous materials, such
as flux or lead. Don't let your small children near it. Don't eat or drink in
the lab.

The spread of the hobby through cheap dev kits and stuff has made people
ignorant to the fact that, yes, these are potentially dangerous chemicals like
any other, with MSDS documentation and proper handling precautions that must
be taken.

You don't get lead poisoning unless you're improperly handling the stuff. Give
me a break.

Arguing that "lead free solder is better for you" is absolutely terrible.
That's like saying "drinking straight bleach is better for you than drinking
bleach with arsenic mixed in."

None of these should even be coming into your body in any way, shape, or form
and if they are, you're doing something horribly wrong.

~~~
cmrdporcupine
I remember seeing somewhere a video of Steve Wozniak showing off his old
soldering technique, which involved holding a length of solder in his mouth so
both his hands could be free... In the days before lead free solder...

~~~
cmrdporcupine
Found the video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJif4i9NRdI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJif4i9NRdI)

See him solder @ 3:08.

------
throwanem
Good analysis. That said, this is one of those things where, yeah, if I
soldered more than a few times a year, I'd probably worry about it. As it is,
cumulatively speaking I probably breathe in more hazardous crap when I'm
driving than when I'm soldering with a fan blowing the smoke away from my
face.

~~~
3fe9a03ccd14ca5
Leaded solder just way easier to work with, unfortunately. I agree. I’ll stick
with it because some simple precautions make just about every “danger”
involved moot.

~~~
exmadscientist
WASH YOUR HANDS. It's the most important thing to do! Both lead and
coronavirus hate it!

~~~
weinzierl
This and don't eat, drink or smoke in the lab. I remember my material sciences
professor relating the story that blood lead levels for a certain group of
pieceworkers dropped considerably when they banned smoking at the workplace.

------
upofadown
MSDS data sheets are only intended to list the hazards associated with a
particular material for an employee of a company using that material. You
can't really use them to determine the relative risks of two materials. Often
times a MSDS is simply wrong and no one cares enough to get it corrected. A
second MSDS issued by the same manufacturer for the same material can be
different than the first.

~~~
mauvehaus
Minor point of order: They're now SDS, not MSDS. Knowing such things is a
well-known hazard of being married to an environmental engineer.

~~~
hprotagonist
since when? i was about to be a pedant and add the M...

~~~
mauvehaus
Wikipedia says mid-2015:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_data_sheet#United_State...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_data_sheet#United_States)

In practice, a lot of smaller companies are still distributing MSDS rather
than SDS.

------
mehrdadn
Question: if you have some solder around and don't know if it's leaded... and
you don't have enough practice to be able to tell the difference from the way
it flows... is there an easy way to tell?

~~~
OJFord
By mass is probably the easiest way - if you also have some that is known
lead-free and it's 'significantly' lighter (per equal volume), the other's
probably leaded. If it's close, you could probably work it out by pouring over
Wikipedia and making assumptions like 'if it's leaded, it will be at minimum
30% lead'... but at that point the 'easy way to tell' is probably to replace
it with known solder (assuming the goal was not to use leaded solder
inadvertently).

------
0culus
This is from the perspective of a hobbyist who does _not_ do industrial
quantities of soldering, but rather the occasional build or the occasional
repair of a piece of old test equipment.

I use eutectic 63/37 Kester solder in several sizes for everything. With my
temp controlled Weller station, it's the bee's knees for making quality joints
quickly.

As far as worrying about safety, it's really down to common sense. In long
time scales, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. If you apply common
sense, you can have fun while you're around and not have problems from lead
solder.

Here's my "hot takes":

1) There's a reason why food and drink isn't allowed in professional labs of
various kinds. Follow their example. Don't use your kitchen table as a
workbench. Don't eat and drink in your work area. Don't lick solder. etc. etc.

If your living arrangement is so small that you can't separate them
adequately, seek out a local hacker space or a friend who does have space.

2) Wash your hands thoroughly after soldering (and if you are doing projects
with your kids, instill in them the instinct to wash their hands, too!) If I'm
finding myself doing a lot of soldering/desoldering for a repair, I take
frequent breaks and wash then, too. It also helps reduce mistakes.

3) At a minimum, use a desk fan to blow fumes away from your face. Better yet,
invest in a fume extractor unit. I'd say the latter it's a necessity if you do
a lot of soldering.

The bottom line is, choose what you prefer and what you are willing to risk
using, and take appropriate precautions. Chances are, even if you eliminate
lead solder from your hobby work, there's likely something equally as
hazardous in your local environment that you are more systemically exposed to.
Radon gas, naturally occurring drinking water contaminants (or sometimes
unnaturally...), etc.

~~~
sneak
Externalities matter. Eventually that stuff is going to be handled by other
people, in a year or ten or a hundred. The risk is not just to you, and is not
just based on your own safety procedures.

Please stop advocating for people to use leaded solder at hackerspaces, which
are generally frequented by children.

~~~
0culus
Scale matters too. As I clearly stated, I am not making electronics at
industrial scales, nor am I generating large quantities of e-waste.

As for hacker spaces, why on earth would anyone in their right mind assume
that it would be ok to not wash hands, eat, drink, etc in that environment
_and_ let their kids work there without the same precautions, leaded solder or
no?

~~~
sneak
Regardless of how you feel on the matter, I have never been to a hackerspace
where people were not eating and drinking inside.

------
S_A_P
My dad used to solder a lot as a kid and I always loved the smell of it. My
dads advice to me was "you probably shouldnt do that. It will slowly poison
you." I dont know that it really stopped me though.. He also (still) has a
mason jar full of mercury that he let my brother and I play with...

------
keithnz
as aside, took me a while ( a while ago when the internet was a much smaller
place) to work out the american pronunciation of solder actually meant
"solder" which is said "soul der" around these parts.

------
whatshisface
It's better for you if you aren't breathing the rosin smoke which comes out in
greater quantities at the higher temperature you have to use. Since there are
an awful lot of people breathing rosin smoke maybe there's still a place for
lead solder. (Pragmatically, vents are not very common, and few people will
buy a vent when switching to lead free.) Rosin smoke is a serious danger and
the number one cause of occupational asthma.

~~~
irjustin
> people breathing rosin smoke maybe there's still a place for lead solder

This statement is what the author is trying to shoot down. "Thoughts that
sounds safe" when in reality they aren't and hurt people along the way.

There are times when pragmatism isn't the way to go. Pragmatically, leaded
gasoline was everywhere, it's too difficult to change. Pragmatically,
emissions are so expensive to deal with, we shouldn't.

If you are exposed to rosin smoke, you need good ventilation, not switch to
leaded solder which is what you're implying here because when you switch to
solder you've got a whole host of other problems to deal with that are way
worse.

For those do this regularly to gain asthma, OSHA (or equal) needs to step in.

Articles like these and activists push us towards better legislation when
pragmatism does not.

~~~
whatshisface
> _If you are exposed to rosin smoke, you need good ventilation, not switch to
> leaded solder which is what you 're implying here_

That's not what I'm trying to imply. I'm saying that you should buy a vent
before you switch to lead-free because even though you need a vent or a mask
for any kind of solder, your need increases when you switch. If you switch and
don't buy a vent your total health might actually go down.

------
jhoechtl
Lead free solder is better for your health, that's clear. It requires new
tools (solder iron) as lead free solder has a higher melting point than lead
free.

In Europe lead free solder is the standard since many (10+) years, you can't
get leaded solder as an option to buy.

~~~
stdbrouw
That's nonsense, it is still very easy to get leaded solder in Europe.

~~~
jdmoreira
Not in Sweden that’s for sure. It took me a long search to find some a while
back when I needed it

~~~
unwind
Wow, I was going to post some trivial links to common national shops that were
full of the stuff last time I looked, but ... nothing.

It seems to be due to a EU regulation that became active March 1 2018 here in
Sweden, it's no longer legal to sell metal alloys containing more than 0.3%
(!) lead to individuals [1].

I had no idea, thanks!

[1]: [https://www.kemi.se/lagar-och-regler/reach-
forordningen/begr...](https://www.kemi.se/lagar-och-regler/reach-
forordningen/begransning/forbjudet-att-salja-lodtenn-med-bly-till-
privatpersoner)

------
econcon
Why isn't there alternative to soldering? Laser for fusing component leads to
PCB?

~~~
cartoonfoxes
For mass production, most work is done with automated methods like wave
soldering which spot methods like soldering irons (or lasers) can't hope to
match for throughput or repeatability. The kind of hand work that's being
discussed here is almost non-representative of most industry practice.

------
nojvek
If Lead is terrible, thanks to getting it out of petrol, why are we still
selling lead solders which will easily poison you? I have done some soldering
with zero education on how to properly do it or the safety implications. I've
most likely poisoned myself.

Can we not ban lead for non-certified use? Like I don't see home depot selling
liquid nitrogen wily nily. Same with oxygen tanks. Isn't playing with Lead in
the same ballpark?

~~~
kube-system
The simple reason for the difference is that poisons are only dangerous if
they end up somewhere they shouldn't be. When we put lead in gasoline, it was
going everywhere in the environment, including the air. Lead which is in a
large enough chunk that it doesn't spontaneously become airborne is much less
likely to end up inside of a human.

Brass also contains lead, which you almost certainly have inside of your house
in a few places. Even 'lead-free' brass for plumbing contains some lead.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass#Lead_content](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass#Lead_content)
The key is that it has to be in low enough concentrations that it doesn't end
up leaving the part and ending up in dangerous amounts inside of humans.

Unless you have occupational exposure, you have most likely not even come
close to poisoning yourself even if you didn't follow any safety precautions.
Lead is pretty bad, but it's not something that causes issues with any amount
of exposure... you body _can_ tolerate some lead exposure. A hobbyist that
solders a dozen PCBs per year has a way different potential exposure than
someone who solders a dozen per hour for 2000 hours per year.

> Like I don't see home depot selling liquid nitrogen wily nily. Same with
> oxygen tanks.

[https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-1-4-oz-Oxygen-Gas-
Cy...](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-1-4-oz-Oxygen-Gas-
Cylinder-304179/202044702)

------
bnolsen
Since lead is a stabilizing agent for tin whiskers has that been dealt with
yet by solder manufacturers or have we just decided that early failure is
acceptable?

------
finolex1
The article makes it seem like lead-free solder is indisputably healthier, but
in reality the conclusion seems to be based off of just the MSDS of the
products. I presume these are generated simply based on the chemical
composition of the solder, but do not take into account the actual exposure
that really occurs when one is soldering.

------
amelius
Curious, what is your preferred method of dispensing the right amount of
solderpaste for SMT work? I find the manual syringe technique quite difficult
but perhaps I should consider a smaller tip size. I've seen people using
compressed air based approaches, but these seem expensive and take a lot of
desk space.

~~~
exmadscientist
First choice: stencil. Stainless steel stencils are cheap these days and
fantastic. No good for rework, though.

Second choice: manual syringe. As you've noticed, it's difficult. Some pastes
are thixotropic, so shaking the tube before dispensing can help a little. Or
maybe that's just my imagination.

Third choice: stick a stainless steel pick or even just a toothpick into a
little pile of paste and dispense it by hand. This is surprisingly useful for
those really fine-pitch pads... but it's tedious.

------
yAak
> "the same fumes"

But, they're not the same. I had to dig around a bit to verify, but melting
lead creates lead fumes:
[https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/exposure.html](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/exposure.html)

You do not have to bring lead to boiling create lead fumes (aka vapor).

Here's the OSHA documentation on lead:
[https://www.osha.gov/chemicaldata/chemResult.html?recNo=500](https://www.osha.gov/chemicaldata/chemResult.html?recNo=500)

They have specifications for testing lead (and other metal) content in the air
from soldering operations:
[https://www.osha.gov/dts/sltc/methods/inorganic/id206/id206....](https://www.osha.gov/dts/sltc/methods/inorganic/id206/id206.pdf)

------
zerof1l
There are people who have been using lead solder for years who swear by it and
refuse to use lead-free because it produces crappy joints. I tend to be on
their side. What you need is proper filtering for air and you'll be fine.

~~~
tartoran
Hey, let them have it if they want it so badly. But they should not convince
younger ones that it’s not a danger though!!!

------
k__
I once read that getting rid of lead in gas made some seemingly unrelated
illnesses go away over the decades.

Let's see how our lifes get better when we remove combustion engines entirely
from our cities.

~~~
KarlKemp
Not just illness. Elimination of lead is a prime suspect for the decrease of
violent crime over the last 40 or so years.

------
cientifico
I think Lead Solder is Ban in Europe since 2003 or around.

I remember the change, where I was not able to buy the old one. I remember
that it had a slightly higher melt temperature.

Can you buy it in America?

~~~
varjag
It's not banned, it's restricted. There are still applications where it's
allowed in manufacture, even in the EU.

Prototyping/R&D is excepted as well.

------
awkward
While the solders on through hole stuff come out messier, I find the goopyness
of lead free solder to be superior for point to point connections.

------
oceanghost
I agree that lead is unsafe. However, I'd like to point out that this new
solder just doesn't flow.

~~~
atoav
Maybe your iron needs some inspection — older and less powerful irons don't
manage to prevent temperature dips as effectively as new ones where the
temperature sensing is integrated in the tip.

I solder lead free mostly for over a decade now and getting a good modern
soldering station was hands down the best thing ever for lead free

~~~
oceanghost
I have a Weller WT2M. I believe that should be sufficient? Perhaps I'll review
my technique.

------
mark-r
I still have a tiny bit of the spool of lead solder I bought in the 1980's.

------
nimish
SN100C is finally a thing but it's really hard to give up 63/37

------
nimbius
i dont know... ive been eating a roll a week and let me tell you, i can
definitely taste a difference in the lead-free solder.

------
mnw21cam
Okay, so this link loads up to a blank page. You have to edit the CSS and
remove the "opacity: 0" to see the content. Presumably there's some Javascript
in there that does this after the page has loaded.

So, talking about a hill to die on - can we please stop doing this? There was
absolutely nothing else in that web page that required Javascript to be able
to view the content. It was completely unnecessary to pull a trick like that.

~~~
mk89
Confirmed. You'll have to temporarily allow javascript for that. What for?
Just some text. Come on, people.

------
NikolaeVarius
Don't really care. Leaded solder is much easier to work with.

~~~
dade_
Wash your hands and lead is fine for hobbyists and far more people enjoyable
to work with. The problem that ROHS solves is landfills full of manufactured
goods not full of lead.

~~~
postalrat
That's what I always figured. I do so little soldering that I doubt it
wouldn't make any difference for my health. And lead based solder saves a lot
of time and frustration.

------
pravda
Whenever someone has difficulty soldering, and I find out they are using
unleaded solder, I always give the same advice:

USE LEADED SOLDER

USE LEADED SOLDER

USE LEADED SOLDER

Lead-free solder is a disaster. Stay away from it.

~~~
reportingsjr
This is seriously old school advice from someone who clearly hasn't done
research or used modern solders. There are quite a few very good lead free
alloys that are basically as good as any leaded alloy.

I use Kester K100LD and it is absolutely fantastic. Unless you really know
your stuff you can't tell a difference.

Please stop giving outdated advice like this.

~~~
pravda
> There are quite a few very good lead free alloys that are basically as good
> as any leaded alloy.

You know what is 100% as good as leaded solder? Actual leaded solder!

You remember that giant class-action against the Heathkit company for all the
people they poisoned with leaded solder? Don't remember it? That's because it
never happened!

If your soldering consists of soldering pins onto Arduino nano boards, or
whipping up a prototype or two with your JLCPCB boards, you'll be fine with
leaded solder.

~~~
reportingsjr
If all you're soldering is some pins on an Arduino nano or some simple jlc
prototypes then you'll also be totally fine with lead free solder. The only
time I've seen a reasonable excuse to use leaded solder at home is when
working with very temperature sensitive devices such as connectors with
plastic in them. Even then leaded isn't /that/ much better.

------
Causality1
I'm a little surprised someone with as solid a reputation as Ben Hencke wrote
all that and didn't bother to dedicate a single solitary sentence to
supporting the claim that leaded solder represents an actual threat to its
user. Here I was, getting ready to point out flaws in his sources but not only
doesn't he have sources he doesn't even have claims. The whole article is him
disproving the myth that lead-free solder is more dangerous than leaded,
which, granted, is a good point but he forgot to back up his thesis at all.

Leaded solder is not even slightly dangerous to its user unless you make a
daily habit of soldering for hours and then eating without washing your hands.
Leaded solder does represent an environmental threat. Fortunately most
manufacturers have switched to lead-free solder and the amount of lead put
into the environment by hobbyist solder is best described as "fucking
infinitesimal".

~~~
lolc
Maybe you're so used to the safety warnings that you always skip them when you
encounter them? Here, extracted just for you:

> Compare that to the leaded version with the same rosin formulation. This
> also creates fumes that are not great to breathe (the same fumes), plus a
> bunch of really bad stuff because of the lead:

> [Long list of bad stuff]

> I think most of this speaks for itself, but I’d like to point out a subtle
> upgrade from P261 to P260 for the leaded stuff. It goes from “avoid” to
> “don’t” and I think this this is worth calling out specifically. Remember
> leaded paint? The stuff we banned in ‘78? The primary cause of lead-
> poisoning isn’t eating paint chips, it is breathing lead laced paint dust.
> [https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-
> poisonin...](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-
> poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354717)

> “But solder dust? ‘Cmon, really? How can that even be?” I can hear someone
> typing already… Have you seen one of these?

> [Picture of solder tip cleaner]

~~~
Causality1
Putting aside the need of a citation or at least an explanation as to how tip
cleaners create lead dust, that's a reason to use sponges with leaded solder,
not a reason not to use lead solder at all.

~~~
lolc
With pathogens, my standards go the other way: I prefer proof they're not
spread before using them. It is very reasonable to assume that grating metals
against each other will create dust. That's what happens in a tip cleaner.

And as for the sponges, I can see very small balls of solder on them. And I
would call balls smaller than I can see "dust". Should I just assume that
there is a lower bound to their size? That they're not there because I can't
see them?

------
oldandtired
There are a lot of different products in use which will cause health problems,
if you don't take care (something that we should all have been taught). There
have been some good suggestions in relation to the environmental situation to
mitigate contamination.

I will add another suggestion to all of these as well. If you work with
various heavy metals, you might want to consider adding beetroot to your diet
on a daily basis. My father was a printer using lead type for many years. It
got to the point that his health was being affected by lead poisoning. His GP
told him to start eating beetroot every day. The reasoning was to stimulate
the liver. Interestingly enough, his health improved and the quantity of lead
in his system decreased till he was basically free of it after six months. A
few years later, the printing works he was at dispensed with lead usage
completely, but my father has continued to eat beetroot on a regular basis
(not every day, but certainly a couple of time a week).

Now of course this is anecdotal and you can take it or leave it. But it can't
hurt and for those who have a need, it may help. Of course, the beetroot
mentioned is what we call beetroot in Australia, it may have some other name
in other places in the world.

~~~
KarlKemp
A fitting username if there ever was...

Seeing the replies in this thread, I’m wondering if the narrative that only
incompetent people need leaded solder might not be quite powerful in
convincing people. More so than any warnings about health risks.

~~~
Dylan16807
Convincing people of what?

I openly acknowledge that I'm incompetent at soldering. Are you encouraging me
to use leaded solder?

~~~
oldandtired
Not at all. Simply that if you have had some previous contamination, this
might help clear up the problem. I said it was anecdotal but as it worked for
my father, it might work for you. Why would I want to convince anyone to
follow this regime? It is there for you to make a judgement call and do your
own research into the matter. If it helps just one other person then it was
useful. If you are not at all interested then don't investigate. That is
entirely up to you.

I actually find it funny that when any kind of suggestion is made that might
(notice the use of the word "might") help with some pre-existing condition,
people make the immediate assumption that the person making the suggestion is
then advocating to continue the activity that caused the pre-existing
condition. In today's atmosphere, it almost appears that people have stopped
trying to think for themselves. All I can suggest it that people stop jumping
to conclusions and if something is unclear then ask some questions. Sure,
there are people who are "trolls" (so to speak). But there are also many who
are not.

Just yesterday, I came across a youtube comment that, in the context it was
written it was meant to be sarcastic, was treated as if the the person making
the comment was supporting what they were not. Essentially, there were only
two of us who recognised the sarcasm, the other participants essentially
treated the person as if they were an idiot. Go figure.

As far as soldering with non-lead based solder is concerned, it has been a
good source for my son-in-law's repair business. The most common source of
problems he has found has been the solder joints failing because of non-lead
solder. He has also received quite a bit of equipment that was essentially
being thrown out because of some unknown failure, which he often found boiled
down again to faulty solder joints due to non-lead solder.

Is this an advocation for using lead solder? No. It is simply recognising that
the processes for using non-lead solder will be a bit different. There are
always consequences for changing to using different materials if the former
are found to have health problems. However, I have seen that people don't
always take that a change in processes is also required and so we get other
problems arising.

At any rate, during this time of isolation, everyone keep safe and take the
necessary precautions for the health of you and your loved ones.

~~~
Dylan16807
Whoa, you _totally_ misread my post.

I was not asking you that question. I was not reacting to your suggestion in
the slightest. I was responding just to KarlKemp's mention of convincing
people about leaded solder.

~~~
oldandtired
Sorry that came out in not the way intended. I was simply using your post as a
starting point for my comment to be to a more general audience. Your comment
was nicely put and opened up the discussion for others as well. Your question
was, from my perspective, a good pointed question which needed, in the general
sense, to be asked.

