Re: Does solder fume contain lead content?

On Sep 6, 7:54 pm, whit3rd <whit...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sep 6, 5:50 pm, ChairmanOfTheBored <RUBo...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:19:28 +0000, Guy Macon <http://www.guymacon.com/>
wrote:
http://www.ccis.com/home/hn/MSDS%20Tin_Lead%20Solder.pdf

Vapor Pressure (mm Hg.): LEAD ONLY: Health Significance ONLY >500C

Solder pots are at 525F! Soldering irons should be no more than 600F!

For reference, 525F :== 274C, 600F :== 315C, and the MSDS claims
health significance to Pb vapor starts at 500C :== 930F.

BTW:

I good estimate of vapor pressure is that it follows a 4th power curve
from the freezing to the boiling:


( (T - TFreeze) / (TBoil-TFreeze) )^4

From this you could figure out about how far below the danger level
the vapor pressure is at normal temperatures. Since soldering is near
freezing the estimate will be so-so but still fair.


Solder pots to tin wire by burning off the insulation are kept
hotter than
that, and soldering irons routinely are used at 800F for some kinds of
operations (desoldering, mainly). Thermostats can fail and
temperatures
in gas-torch soldering can get high enough.

However: any normal room has LOTS of surfaces in contact with
air, all of which will condense out any vapor because they're cooler
than
the 500C temperature. It isn't normal outside a smelter to have a
working
environment that has significant Pb vapor pressure, because the
work environment doesn't consist mainly of hot-solder surfaces and
lungs.

The most important danger in soldering: you might pick up the iron
by
the barrel. That hurts.


.