Ever been injured/poisoned from solder(ing)?

Thread Starter

TheRyan

Joined Sep 10, 2005
2
I was just wondering, has anyone here ever been hurt through the act of soldering or by the solder itself? I have some old solder that I use on small projects (it's likely from the 70's or 80's) and I'm pretty sure it's high lead content. I've never been burned by an iron, but I have burned some marks into a wooden cutting board while it was heating.

Ryan
 

mozikluv

Joined Jan 22, 2004
1,435
Originally posted by TheRyan@Sep 9 2005, 11:20 PM
I was just wondering, has anyone here ever been hurt through the act of soldering or by the solder itself? I have some old solder that I use on small projects (it's likely from the 70's or 80's) and I'm pretty sure it's high lead content. I've never been burned by an iron, but I have burned some marks into a wooden cutting board while it was heating.

Ryan
[post=10225]Quoted post[/post]​
hi,

i was once seared (way backed in the early 80's) under my right arm by my live iron lying carelessly on my workbench while i was reaching for some electronic parts. that gave me a painful experience and taught me to always put back the iron in its holder when not in use.

moz
 

Brandon

Joined Dec 14, 2004
306
Pipe soldering, but not PCB. Was doing some plumbing work with an acetelene torch and wasn't paying attention after I was done soldering and leaned my leg against the pipe for leverage.. very nice 2nd degree burn in about 0.5 seconds.

Only other injury I got was from a pressurized air. Was working on my senior design project for my degree and made a miscalculation with surface area and pressure... Bang, and my nose was 1" to the left and I was wearing protection is the kicker. My face mask broke my nose from the force. Turned out to be 600lbs of force and not the 100 I calculated, and it tossed a 8" piece of sch80 pvc right at me.
 

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
Hi,

You haven't lived until you have dropped liquid solder onto bare flesh. Never solder wearing shorts.

I once picked up an iron by the tip. That gave me some interesting grooves in my fingertips.

As far as the effects of the lead and/or flux... If it were particularly poisonous, I'd have been dead long ago. Now that tetraethyl lead is no longer in gas, the amount of lead exposure is probably 1000 X less. There's plenty of old aircrew left over from WWII and Korea, who were exposed to levels much higher than from automotive sources.

I've used lead solder and breathed flux smoke for 40 years without any apparent harm. Maybe a little crazy, but that helps in electronics.
 

Gorgon

Joined Aug 14, 2005
113
Originally posted by TheRyan@Sep 10 2005, 07:20 AM
I was just wondering, has anyone here ever been hurt through the act of soldering or by the solder itself? I have some old solder that I use on small projects (it's likely from the 70's or 80's) and I'm pretty sure it's high lead content. I've never been burned by an iron, but I have burned some marks into a wooden cutting board while it was heating.

Ryan
[post=10225]Quoted post[/post]​
Hi
The highest risk you run working with solder is the risk of splatter drops of hot solder. It is not difficult to do this soldering wires, so the best protection is to wear glasses. Hot solder droplets in your eyes does hurt!

When you have touched the soldering iron enough times, the callused skin only gets white some hours (the smell is like bacon crisps). But during this process you learn to use the correct end of it to hold on to. ;)

Old solder tends to run better and make easier connections than the new types. It might be the flux type that is wetting the surfaces better than the new ones.

I used to get a bit hyper (like too much coffee) after a whole day of soldering(bad ventilation). If you plan to solder much, its an idea to use som sort of ventilation system to reduce the amount of flux smoke you inhale. That also go for the new types of solder.

And remember to wash your hands before eating, after handling lead or solder.


TOK ;)
 

Erin G.

Joined Mar 3, 2005
167
Don't forget safety glasses. I once dropped the iron with hot solder on the end and it "splashed" just next to my eye. Gave me a nasty little burn right in the outside corner of the eye. 'Could have been much worse,....
 
Ive been burned many times from soldering irons on the fingers. After a couple times I kept some aloe and some bandaids in my tool box (because those burns hurt like a sob!)

Solder splatters all over the place, flux too. Gets on my cloths even.
 

lightingman

Joined Apr 19, 2007
374
OK...My father bought me my first soldering iron when I was 6 years old.Whilst playing with it on the first evening that I got it, I was sitting on the floor holding it up in front of me melting miles of solder.As I became more and more exited with the shear size of the ball of molten solder at the end of the iron, I did not realise that it would only hang there until gravity did it's thing.Sudenly it diapeared (where did it go), I will tell you... It entered the fly hole in the front of my pyjamas !!! I will leave the rest to your imagination...P.S. It all still works O.K. (not the soldering iron !!!)..Daniel...
 

recca02

Joined Apr 2, 2007
1,212
i,ve had negligible burns with solder and soldering rod,
i,ve also done welding and smithy, got lots of burns during smithy thankfully only
from tools and not from direct contact with red hot mild steel,
its the most dangerous workshop activity out there use of safety equipments is a must though sadly not much safety can be had in smithy.
guess you can never be too careful can u ?
mr. lighting man(akin to super man) now i know why all superheroes wear underwear on tights :D
 

lightingman

Joined Apr 19, 2007
374
AH...I may own a Theatre, but I leave the tight wearing to the actors.... Yes you are rite... The only way to protect oneself is to use common sense and protective equipment where it is nessasary.I used to teach Electronics and Technology, including casting in aluminiun. I have full casting and welding facilities at home in the workshops... But I still think everyone has gone over the top with "HEALTH AND SAFETY" !!!!!!I stoped teaching for that reason... It got to a point where the students were not permitted to undertake most tasks, because it was considered "TOO RISKY" !!!!.How can you learn when you don't get to do it ????? Soldering is less dangerous than cooking !!!! Daniel.
 

bloguetronica

Joined Apr 27, 2007
1,541
Once...thumb...severe burn.

About getting poisoned, lets say that is quite improbable. I might be addicted to vapours from soldering. Yes, there is nothing like the smell or burned flux by the morning.
 

lightingman

Joined Apr 19, 2007
374
Soldering does not beat the fumes from my roller tinning machine.. Now that's bad. They do say that lead causes damage to the brain (memmory loss) , so after 41 years of soldering how come I can remember the pin-outs and functions of the entire 4000 CMOS range, and most other components off the top of my head (sad realy is'nt it) do I need to get a life ??????.Maybe I am not breathing heavy enough whilst soldering !!!!Daniel.
 

bloguetronica

Joined Apr 27, 2007
1,541
Soldering does not beat the fumes from my roller tinning machine.. Now that's bad. They do say that lead causes damage to the brain (memmory loss) , so after 41 years of soldering how come I can remember the pin-outs and functions of the entire 4000 CMOS range, and most other components off the top of my head (sad realy is'nt it) do I need to get a life ??????.Maybe I am not breathing heavy enough whilst soldering !!!!Daniel.
Don't worry. There are worse things. Take cyanide for example (I mean, don't take it:D - sorry, dark humor).
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
But I still think everyone has gone over the top with "HEALTH AND SAFETY" !!!!!!I stoped teaching for that reason... It got to a point where the students were not permitted to undertake most tasks, because it was considered "TOO RISKY" !!!!.How can you learn when you don't get to do it ????? Soldering is less dangerous than cooking !!!! Daniel.
This is 21st Century Britain, where health and safety rules are made by pen pushers in an office who have no experience of what they are talking about. I could ramble on about hundreds of H&S storys where you are left head-in-hands but this forum only allows 5000 characters per post even for admin!

Dave
 

m4yh3m

Joined Apr 28, 2004
186
AH...I may own a Theatre, but I leave the tight wearing to the actors.... Yes you are rite... The only way to protect oneself is to use common sense and protective equipment where it is nessasary.I used to teach Electronics and Technology, including casting in aluminiun. I have full casting and welding facilities at home in the workshops... But I still think everyone has gone over the top with "HEALTH AND SAFETY" !!!!!!I stoped teaching for that reason... It got to a point where the students were not permitted to undertake most tasks, because it was considered "TOO RISKY" !!!!.How can you learn when you don't get to do it ????? Soldering is less dangerous than cooking !!!! Daniel.
A family friend would cook out... he'd serve "charcoal sticks and patties" (hamburgers and hotdogs). Kid you not, there was *BARELY* any meat... could probably use them to make cave drawings. That man can and has burned water in a pot. Don't ask how. I never go to anymore BBQs there.
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
A family friend would cook out... he'd serve "charcoal sticks and patties" (hamburgers and hotdogs). Kid you not, there was *BARELY* any meat... could probably use them to make cave drawings. That man can and has burned water in a pot.
Sounds like me after a few beers at a barbecue! Was I your host! :D

Dave
 

recca02

Joined Apr 2, 2007
1,212
sometimes this HEALTH AND SAFETY thing makes no sense,
i have been to places like control rooms with a safety helmet wondering if the person who made me wear it was a jerk or was it me wearing it.
next day we went to some highly dangerous places gas recieving station switchyard whatnot and tell u what if anything wud have occurred probably the helmet wud be the only thing that wud be left out there. more like it wont have missed by a whisker but only whiskers wud have been left.:p
 
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