DIYbanter - View Single Post - Lead free solder

James Beck

In article m,
says...
James Beck wrote:
In article m,
says...
Allodoxaphobia wrote:
Arfa Daily wrote:

At 30th tonnes, the potential environmental impact of the lead in
solder, even if you *did* dump it all in the ground, is minuscule.

And, where do these pin-heads think the lead came from, in the first
place?

It came from deep within the ground, in the form of lead ore, which I
think is much less of a health hazard than metallic lead decomposing in
a landfill and seeping into the water supply.
Mettalic lead has been shown to have very little impact on the
environment. Especially after it has built up an oxide layer.

In Europe, there are places where the Romans smelted lead 2000 years
ago, and 8" or so below the topsoil, the dirt is still so toxic that
health officials (in Britain at least) don't allow people to dig there,
even wearing protective gear.
Ah, but we aren't talking about running a smelting operation, are we?

Not if you can get all your lead from recycled materials,
and won't have to dig up any more ore and process it.
That is true, but you are still comparing apples to accordions here.
You brought up problems with a smelting operation that took place 2K
years ago as if it were applicable to the problem at hand. Yes, we know
that lead is "bad" and recycling is "good".

Otherwise, we have to look at the entire process.
That's just good engineering.

BTW, I'm not a pinhead, just someone who cares about my health, that of
others and a quality environment for us to all live in.
I don't know.
Comparing burying metallic lead VS a smelting operation, that borders on
pinheadiness.

Maybe we go on different definitions. To me, "pinhead" refers
more to people who have very pointed, narrow ways of thinking,
and foolishly fail to choose wisely in regards to the big picture.

When I left my last job, I had a full physical including a
lead test, and even though I had been "exposed" to lead solder almost
daily for 13 years, my blood lead levels were almost not measurable and
that puts me below the national average for people that don't work with
solder at all. Why would that be if lead/tin solder were so dangerous?

Easy one! Blood tests often fail to show up heavy metal toxicity.
You shouldn't expect them to, because the problem with heavy
metals is that they build up in body tissues, not the blood.
That's exactly the problem! They hang around in the body,
building up in and causing problems with vital organs (e.g.,
liver, colon, brain, bones) and *don't* easily dissolve out
in the blood and get flushed out.
How does that lead GET to the tissues of a human?
It has to get into the blood supply first.
A blood test is the best indicator of recent exposure and considering I
worked around lead solder 5 to 6 days a week, more when I worked on
hobby projects, the results would help determine if further tests on
tissue would be indicated.

Jim