Health risks from lead-based solder: When heated, lead forms lead oxide fumes. Lead is absorbed into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes of the skin, the lungs, and the stomach. If lead enters the body, it can give rise to serious chronic health effects.

Although many manufacturers are making adjustments to move to non-lead solder, it has not yet been completely eliminated from the industry. If you are using solder that contains lead, it can cause contamination and subsequent illness. For this reason, you should find out whether or not your solder contains lead and if there is a non-lead alternative available.

The most common way for lead to enter your body when soldering is through ingestion. This usually happens when the surfaces where you are working are contaminated with lead dust. Although touching the lead is not harmful to your skin, it can enter your body if you smoke, eat, drink, etc., without first washing your hands.

If the solder contains lead, the melting process can release fumes that contain toxic lead oxide fumes. Inhaling the fumes can add to lead accumulation in the body which can cause both acute and long term illness.

Ideally, wherever possible, you should switch from a lead solder to a lead-free (and rosin-free) solder (or look at a different joining solution). Rosin (colophony and resin) can often be contained in solder flux. The fumes generated from using rosin can cause eye, throat and lung irritation, headaches and nosebleeds. Rosin is also a skin sensitiser and can cause and aggravate asthma. It is therefore important to read the Safety Data Sheet that is available to you when deciding on which solder wire to use for your work, so that you can tell what is contained within the solder fume that becomes liberated when you are soldering.

When changing to lead-free and rosin-free solder is not practicable, which may be because you are working on or repairing old electronic components, then it is imperative that you justify this within your risk assessment and that you work safely. Good personal hygiene and having access to facilities where you can wash your hands is vital, as too is use of proper local exhaust ventilation, like a booth, or if needing to be portable, on-tip extraction, that is purposely designed for removing solder fume through either a filtration unit, or ideally out to a place of safety. Where these systems are installed or used, they need to be used as per the manufacturer's instructions and will require regular maintenance to ensure they remain effective. This includes changing the filters as per the replacement schedule and regular cleaning. Records must be maintained as per any other LEV system (by completion of the log book). Extraction used for soldering fume also requires statutory testing every 14 calendar months under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, so if purchased, will need to be added to your statutory testing register.

Supervisors/line managers should inform users of the risks from soldering and be instructed on how to solder, bringing to their attention other risks that are relevant and specific to soldering, including risk of burns, electric shock, fire, etc. if rules are not adhered to. All work activities should be subject to risk assessment and ANY work requiring lead-based, rosin-cored solder must be justified.

Workers who solder using lead or rosin more than once a week may require health surveillance. Line managers of such staff should contact Health and Safety Services for more advice on how to access this service.

Internal Links

Lead Policy

Risk Assessment

Generic Risk Assessment - See #11: Soldering

Local Exhaust Ventilation

Routine Operation of LEV

Statutory Examination and Testing

Statutory Inspection Register reporting form

Safety Data Sheets

External Links

HSE: Electronics (soldering)

HSE: Solder Fume and You

HSE: Control Approach - Fume from Rosin-cored solder

HSE: Soldering: Hand-held with lead-based, rosin-cored solders

HSE: Soldering Engineering Control

HSE: Control of Lead at Work Regulations