On Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:05:44 GMT, Steve Noll
Gave us:

Not likely lead.
I work in the electronics manufacturing industry and have been
soldering with lead-based solder since I was a kid. Not taking any
precautions either. I got curious and got a lead test about a year
ago. It found nothing. You must really have to eat the stuff for it
to be absorbed.


Not even then. Metallic form lead is simply not that hazardous.

The "white lead" in a car battery gleans off surface molecules
pretty badly, and I wouldn't want to handle that much, and the old
lead hatters used to use got a lot of "free molecules" in their bodies
by touch, and food handling, but these modern alloys, as well as
simple bullet lead are not that big a problem... at all.

Many gun shot wound treatments have occasions where they don't
bother committing to surgery to remove the bullet. Only to patch up
the damage it did in its path to its resting point. Shotgun pellets
get left in a lot of cases as well. Our body fluids "temper" the
surface too, and then no lead gleans off, if any did to begin with.

I too have soldered for years, and for one thing, there is No lead
in the smoke that rises. That is volatized flux... PERIOD.

The melting point of lead yields no fumes that contain lead. One
would have to boil it. Now Mercury, is liquid at room temp, and has a
very low boiling point, and is VERY dangerous when boiling.

Lead alloy solders are completely safe...

RoHS sucks and is a ruse to buck up the euro dollar, and force the
world to re-tool and re-chem all their processes. Nothing more.

BIG waste of money, and I am glad I work in a segment of the
industry that is exempt.