# solder and a good buzz! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299 "2001-09-07T21:24:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![satanslawyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@satanslawyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/satanslawyer)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299/1 "2001-09-07T21:24:48Z")
A co-worker and I were joking around about how cool it would be if instead of having flux core solder, you could make opium core solder! That way you could get a good high out of soldering. Which brought us to wonder, how much lead exists in the fumes from soldering? That is, how much lead am I inhaling when I’m doing an ECB repair? I know most of the fumes coming up are from the flux, but is there any lead in there? I have no intention of starting a debate on opium use, let alone having people inform me of what would happen if you trying using opium as a flux agent. I’m only asking if there is lead in solder fumes. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299/2 "2001-09-07T21:38:52Z")
Yes. Four PDF files for your perusal (if you have nothing better to do for the next hour than watch Acrobat Reader arm-wrestle with your hard drive…) [http://www.kester.com/PDF%20FILES/PDF%20MSDS/J%20Misc.%20Products/MSDS%20Lead%20Solder%20(02AUG00).pdf](http://www.kester.com/PDF%20FILES/PDF%20MSDS/J%20Misc.%20Products/MSDS%20Lead%20Solder%20(02AUG00).pdf) > [@](#): > > … Dry Chemical Hazardous Combustion Products: Melted solder above 1000 °F will liberate > highly toxic lead fumes. Explosion Sensitivity: Impact - None Identified [http://www.chemtronics.com/msds2/1901.pdf](http://www.chemtronics.com/msds2/1901.pdf) > [@](#): > > … by OSHA as a hazardous substance. Lead is toxic and overexposure to molten solder > fumes can result in lead poisoning. Product contents are not listed as … [http://www.teckcominco.com/products/msds/msds-solderpdr-0201.pdf](http://www.teckcominco.com/products/msds/msds-solderpdr-0201.pdf) > [@](#): > > … Inhalation or ingestion of lead dust or fumes may result in headache, nausea, vomiting … February > 20, 2001 Low Alpha Tin-Lead Solder Page 1 of 5 SECTION 4 … > **[indg248.pdf](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg248.pdf)** > > 72.91 KB > [@](#): > > … soldering. Their intermittent soldering work may lead to high, short-term exposures … As > exposure to rosin-based solder flux fumes may be hazardous to health … ---
**Author:** ![KeithB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@KeithB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithB)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299/3 "2001-09-07T21:48:46Z")
1000 F is pretty high. 60-40 Lead tin solder melts around 180 to 220 C, or 356 to 428 F. I doubt that there is very much lead in the fumes of a eutectic solder. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299/4 "2001-09-07T21:58:14Z")
Mass soldering stations have a legal requirement for effective evacuation of fumes. Apart from the risk of lead poisoning, the flux itself is corrosive and can be toxic, it can certainly cause allergic reactions over a period of time which then can trigger reactions to substances that dod not originally cause problems, as such solder flux can be an allergen precurser. Mass soldering is such a tedious task that any supervisor would have to become suspicious if they found their staff actually enjoyed doing it and had a need to do more and more. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299/5 "2001-09-07T23:51:54Z")
**DDG** , you can link to Google’s text versions of those infernal **pdf** s, but you lose the graphic and some of the formatting. Either copy the “text version” link from the Google results, or put the pdf’s URL after [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hpn6C5salmU:](http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hpn6C5salmU:) [link1]([http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hpn6C5salmU:http://www.kester.com/PDF%20FILES/PDF%20MSDS/J%20Misc.%20Products/MSDS%20Lead%20Solder%20](http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hpn6C5salmU:http://www.kester.com/PDF%20FILES/PDF%20MSDS/J%20Misc.%20Products/MSDS%20Lead%20Solder%20)(02AUG 00).pdf) [link2](http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hpn6C5salmU:http://www.chemtronics.com/msds2/1901.pdf) [link3](http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hpn6C5salmU:http://www.teckcominco.com/products/msds/msds-solderpdr-0201.pdf) [link4](http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:Hpn6C5salmU:http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg248.pdf) [Edited by bibliophage on 09-07-2001 at 06:54 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299/6 "2001-09-08T02:30:08Z")
[bangs head on keyboard repeatedly] Oh. [sub]thanx[/sub] 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solder-and-a-good-buzz/80299/7 "2001-09-08T05:27:51Z")
Biblio is DA MAN, isn’t he, DDG?