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Health issues due to soldering fumes.
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SilverSolder:

If you are sensitive to the fumes, maybe arrange for a "proper" fume extractor, i.e. one with a hose that actually pumps the fumes outside the house.  It could easily be a DIY solution, with a hose going out through the window or something...

james_s:
My partner is very sensitive to fumes, if I burn an oil lamp she complains bitterly about the smell of kerosene even when it isn't strong enough for me to smell it at all. I got a small fume extractor that sucks the air through an activated charcoal filter and that has been sufficient to stop the complaining about soldering smells.
Pinkus:
I would have a dermatologist check if there is an allergy to colophony. The flux contains colophony and an allergy to it is not uncommon.
I, for example, have such a rosin (colophony) allergy with various cross-allergies. Since I am sucking off the soldering fumes, I have no more problems.
I usually use a tiny suction nozzle mounted to the soldering iron (Weller WFE P) and for some other jobs a big suction device (Pace Arm Eva 250). The Weller suction nozzle can also be attached well to soldering irons of other manufacturers (in my case JBC T245). I would never ever work without it. It sucks off 99% of the fume immediately after it emergences. I'll try to submit a photo later.
MT:

--- Quote from: paul8f on April 01, 2020, 01:04:18 pm ---Hi all,

as a teenager I spent hours and hours in my bedroom putting veroboard projects together and tinkering around with devices as many of us did when we were younger. The trouble is that I was the eldest sibling, and neither of my parents had a clue as to what electronics involved, never-mind the health&safety aspects of my hobby (...which later went on to become my career).

With no mentor or guidance, I proceeded to do a lot of 60/40 soldering in a small room with no filter fan or air extraction unit. I at least had the common sense to crack the top window opening, and blow the fumes away while soldering, but I don't think these practices were enough. Now approaching 40, I can't do 30 seconds worth of soldering without getting a headache, and instantly becoming totally run down with tiredness. The combination of these two symptoms I suppose you could compare to 'brain-fog.' I am currently working in the opto-electronics industry where I can avoid soldering, but I am very eager to get back to my first love of electronic debug and repair. The stress of not doing a job that I like is slowly killing me, and I urgently need to change something.

So my question is regarding how I should proceed with getting on top of these health issues... Has anyone ever been tested for chronic heavy-metal poisoning, what's involved, and if it's treatable what are the options available? (Not sure what I'm going to do with the current restrictions regarding the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis, but now is the time for me to gather all the advice that I can.) Please, please share your experiences or stories. I'd appreciate any weblinks too that may help.

Thanks, Paul.

--- End quote ---
I suggest you try ASMR, meditation and other inwards looking/relaxing methods then to kill your self to an drug addiction
such as soldering. Try magic mushrooms, walk in the forests, bicycling, balooning, parapeting, rally car d riving, what have you! Get a cat!
paul8f:

--- Quote from: blueskull on April 01, 2020, 01:25:38 pm ---Lead doesn't boil off at any reasonable temperature. The fume is mostly flux. Theoretically lead can get oxidized and the nano oxide particle gets carried by larger flux particles in the smoke, but that's highly unlikely since the flux is there to prevent oxidation and to reduce oxidized layer to promote wetting.

--- End quote ---

Apologies for taking so long to respond to any of the replies. That makes sense that it's the flux you need to be more concerned with. The multicore solder-wire I normally use has a rosin based no-clean flux.
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