Electronics > Beginners
Is 'indirect' contact with lead solder safe?
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wraper:

--- Quote from: jotwerde on November 25, 2018, 02:24:53 pm ---
--- Quote from: tggzzz on November 25, 2018, 09:21:23 am ---I also keep tin/lead solder paste in my fridge, inside a syringe, inside a sealed plastic bag, inside a sealed plastic box.

--- End quote ---

This may sound stupid, but is there any particular reason for storing the solder in your fridge?

--- End quote ---
Most solder paste have 6 or 12 month shelf life when refrigerated. At room temperature they may degrade to the point of not being up to spec in just 1 week. Many remain sort of okayish even if you store them at room temperature but some become completely useless in just one month. There are a few solder pastes that a rated to be stored at room temperature, though.

wraper:

--- Quote from: jotwerde on November 25, 2018, 02:49:06 pm ---
--- Quote from: tggzzz on November 25, 2018, 02:38:46 pm ---Solder paste for SMD components contains liquid flux and has a shelf life. Being cooler extends the shelf life, but I wouldn't want to use that technique where repeatability is required.

--- End quote ---

I noticed that you wrote paste, excluding it from my question was a typo.
Just asking cause there's no hint to keep it cool written on the one I've got.
Thanks for the info.

--- End quote ---
Probably you got some cheap crap then where they did not even bother to mention it. If it's from ebey, then even weight written on the label is most likely twice of actual contents.
https://docs-emea.rs-online.com/webdocs/0545/0900766b80545a75.pdf


--- Quote ---Storage:
It is recommended to store LF318 at 0 to 10°C. (NB cartridges
should be stored tip down to prevent the formation of air
pockets). The paste should be removed from cold storage a
minimum of 8 hours before use. Do not use forced heating
methods to bring solder paste up to temperature. Multicore
LF318 has been formulated to minimize flux seperation on
storage but should this occur, gentle stirring for 15 seconds will
return the product to it's correct rheological performance. To
prevent contamination of unused product, do not return any
material to its original container. For further specific shelf life
information, contact your local Technical Service Center.
Shelf Life:
Provided Multicore LF318 is stored tighly sealed in its original
container at 0 to 10°C, a minimum shelf life of 6 months can be
expected. Air shipment is recommended to minimize the time
the containers are exposed to higher temperatures.
--- End quote ---
janoc:

--- Quote from: jotwerde on November 25, 2018, 08:14:59 am ---Just for clarification, when you all say 'wash your hands before eating', do you mean 'wash your hands before eating if you handled solder' or 'generally wash your hands before eating even if you haven't handled solder, because you've got solder lying around'? Taking the example from above, should the one who took the book wash his hands, even though he just touched the book and may not know that it's touched solder?

--- End quote ---

I thought that washing hands before eating anything regardless of what you have been handling before is common sense that is being taught to toddlers already? There are way worse things around you can get if you don't wash your hands than lead. Such as salmonella, E. coli (yay toilets), listeria, hepatitis, etc.

Lead is really the least of your concerns - lead is a problem only if you ingest it long term (e.g. because you have lead paint or pipes) because it accumulates in your body and will slowly poison you. E. coli from poorly washed food or because you don't wash hands after using the loo can kill you overnight.

So if you follow basic, common sense, practices when dealing with food, lead from soldering will never even come into picture. You are literally worrying about nonsense with that book example.


I would only suggest that if you have small kids around, make sure they can't get to your solder - small kids like putting stuff in their mouth and licking leaded solder is probably one of the few ways how the lead could get in one's organism from anything soldering related.

And if you are wondering why all this RoHS stuff banning lead in electronics is around when it is so safe - it is because most of the electronics ends up in landfills (unfortunately) and the lead (and cadmium and other nasty stuff) can leach out of it into soil and ground water. Where it will accumulate and poison us over time. So it is prudent to avoid that. Those regulations aren't there because handling leaded solder is dangerous.



6PTsocket:

--- Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on November 24, 2018, 06:26:19 pm --- |O

Good grief, if lead was as deadly as anthrax, all air pistol users would be dead within days, don't you think?

I handle hundreds of .177 pellets WITH NO GLOVES on the weekends!

Oh no!!!



--- End quote ---
As a kid, I used to practice at an indoor rifle range. The guy that ran the place  had partial paralysis of his hands from all the lead he sucked up. Of course, that is far more exposure than most ammo users are likely to see. As for solder, I have been using 60/40 for many, many years and seem to have gotten away with it but that may be just my opinion. LOL!!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

janoc:
I would add one more thing for the OP - if worried about lead in solder, why not use lead-free solder? Those were explicitly designed to avoid this problem.
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