Leaded vs Lead-free solder

[headcrab]

Do I need to use lead-free solder in a school? It's a K-12 school, but I'm not in the habit of leaving connections uninsulated or in a place where the uninformed can try to eat them.

 

[FMEng]

No. I've been soldering with lead since my early teens and I've suffered no, uh..... what was I saying, again? But seriously, just use a small fan to blow fumes away from your face.

 

[ruinexplorer]

If you are asking about the legality of using it, there is nothing that I know of in the US outside of California that would prohibit you from doing so. Of course, I would recommend that if you did, you would need to set up a posted guideline for proper hand washing after using it.

The RoHS standards, as far as I remember, are mainly European based, and have not fully been adopted in the US.

 

[Chris15]

Use real solder, wash your hands once you're done. The fumes are generally the rosin flux, not lead, but still a fan can be a good idea. If it's only a few connections, just blow on them while you do them - it forces the fumes away from your nose and mouth.

Lead Free Solder is a different, harder beast to work with and has a much higher failure rate - there is a reason why aerospace and such industries are exempted from the RoHS requirements pertaining to solder...

 

[avkid]

Lead free solder is horrible stuff.

 

[gafftaper]

That sounds like the kind of thing that I wouldn't ask around too much at school. I would just take good standard precautions (don't do it with a classroom full of kids around) and use the leaded solder. If the wrong person hears the word "lead" who knows the panic that might be set off. What they don't know won't hurt them or you as long as you follow good safety practices, unless they are in the habit of eating cables.

 

[headcrab]

That's kind of what I thought. Thanks for the advice.

 

[ruinexplorer]

It's not worrying about direct ingestion of the lead, but indirect ingestion that is often the problem. If you don't have proper hand washing immediately after using it, lead that may be on your hands could easily be ingested by having your hands near your mouth (scratching your nose for example). This article is a good primer for safety when using lead solder. This is a good article on understanding proper ventilation.

 

[museav]

You might want to verify if the school district or any other agencies involved have applicable rules or guidelines. Many groups including some school boards are big about all of their new construction and facilities being "green" and related to gaff's comment, that effort can include rules and guidelines based more on the perception of their being environmentally conscious. I doubt that many would go as far as requiring lead free solder other than maybe for 'finished goods' but you never know.

 

[FMEng]

Some questions are better left un-asked. I wouldn't lie if someone were to ask about it, but I doubt anyone would even think of it. In my opinion, lead solder has superior properties for hand soldering and I will use it as long as possible.

Now, I'm going to get on my soap box. As for manufactured goods made with lead free solder, we will suffer from electronic products with short lifespans until we come to our senses about lead free solder. It's a lot worse than that fancy LCD TV dying in a few short years. We will eventually see injuries or deaths caused by tin whiskers in critical systems in things such as airplanes and medical equipment. I support good environmental regulations, however there is no science that shows that lead in electronic solder gets into the environment in significant amounts other than from fumes while soldering is taking place.

 

[cpf]

Now, I'm going to get on my soap box. As for manufactured goods made with lead free solder, we will suffer from electronic products with short lifespans until we come to our senses about lead free solder. It's a lot worse than that fancy LCD TV dying in a few short years. We will eventually see injuries or deaths caused by tin whiskers in critical systems in things such as airplanes and medical equipment. I support good environmental regulations, however there is no science that shows that lead in electronic solder gets into the environment in significant amounts other than from fumes while soldering is taking place.

Get sick soon! The exception from RoHS for medical devices is on its way out (22 July 2014 at last word), but thanks to the long lifetime of "leaded" medical equipment, you should have a while longer till you have to start worrying about the equipment keeping you alive dropping dead itself.

I'm sure hospitals and clinics will be delighted with the rise in expensive whole-board replacements if manufacturers don't properly redesign their equipment and processes to account for the lead-free transition. As someone who repairs this equipment, gonna have to find a good loupe to inspect dead boards with.

 

[Aman121]

Lead free solder is absolutely terrible, I will also continue to use normal solder for as long as possible. I can't believe how crazy people get over a little lead. Theres way worse stuff than lead in the cheap Chinese toys that little ms. soccer mom gets for her kids, but she makes a big deal over lead in a computer monitor. It's not like people eat circuit boards.

 

[erichart]

I am not sure what regulations govern K-12 schools, but OSHA does have regulations regarding using lead-containing solders in professional shops that fall under their guidelines. Any facility that uses lead-containing solders for more than thirty days per year have to follow all OSHA lead standards, which require personal monitoring of the workers using it, training, blood tests, the use of showers and changing rooms, and more.
Your school may or may not fall under OSHA's guidelines (I'm not sure how that works), or it may be governed by its own regulations that have similar requirements.

 

[photoatdv]

I'm pretty sure that's mostly ignored as I've never seen the shops with in house repair techs make people go through showers ect...

 

[ruinexplorer]

I don't know of the OSHA requirement for showers with the use of lead solder, specifically, but you should never just assume that just because other employers might ignore a standard that you should as well. It's kind of like a police officer can pull you over for speeding, even if everyone else is speeding as well. You will still get a ticket.

I reiterate, it is not licking/eating the solder directly, but indirect ingestion which is where the danger lies. More of the problems from fumes come from flux than from lead (as electronic soldering does not get to high enough temperatures for lead fumes to be a problem). Wash your hands before smoking/eating/after your soldering session. Wipe down your work area to prevent an accumulation. Work safe, stay healthy.

More information: http://www.lbl.gov/ehs/ih/pdf/safeSolderingFinal.pdf see the top of page 3
Safety and Health Topics | Lead maybe a more detailed search will yield if showers would be required for soldering
http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hurricane_Facts/LeadHazards.pdf quick facts