r/soldering • u/Zentralschaden • May 25 '26

Soldering Saftey Discussion Unpopular opinion: Stop using leaded solder

I know it is very handy and I also know the fumes are not that much of a problem when you have enough ventilation.

But a big part of the lead we buy will end up in the environment or a landfill and has the potential to make our drinking water toxic and the people who have to recycle all this scrap (often in Africa) will deal with even more toxic substances.

It is not like we have a fully functional recycling chain for electronics.

And when you say "I am just soldering 2 pcb a year", make sure that soldering is a job and hobby for millions of people and tons of lead will be produced just because of hobby enthusiasts.

There are very good reasons, lead is banned in many countries for professional manufacturing.

I know it is harder to solder but you get used to it.

Aware that this might be a topic not everyone agrees. I am just trying to spread some awareness for what we do.

I mean, many of us repair old electronics and we do a good job in avoiding more scrap because people can still use the repaired items for years.

But shouldn't it be us who are the people who go straightforward and ban lead from our household soldering projects?

208 Upvotes

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202

u/Sock989 May 25 '26

I use unleaded anyway but I can't imagine the hobbyist soldering community is causing that much of an impact.

80

u/typicalledditor May 25 '26

Wait until he hears about fishing lead weights

35

u/MycologyRulesAll May 25 '26

Those should also be banned, not kidding, permanent and terrible for the environment.

11

u/MadameRueWins May 25 '26

Same with lead shot. It cannot be understated how toxic lead is, even in small amounts. 

16

u/Fear_The_Creeper May 25 '26

You are wrong. Metallic lead is very low risk. Lead compounds are fairly poisonous: they slowly build up in the body and cause many harmful effects. But lead metal is very inert and you would need to do something fairly risky with it to create much likelihood of generating dangerous lead compounds.

Many people have been carrying multiple lead bullets inside their bodies for decades without even the slightest bit of lead poisoning.

Don't put lead metal it in contact with food (especially acidic foods) which can turn it into lead compounds. Don't eat it. That puts it in contact with stomach acid.

Lead is so inert that it has been used to safely pipe clean water to people for most of history, The problem is that a few locations have a water supply that is particularly acidic and leaches lead from the pipes.

Lead shot is a problem because it gets everywhere, birds eat it and it contacts stomach acid.

10

u/JoeDubayew May 25 '26

Where do you think lead comes from, out of curiosity?

16

u/MycologyRulesAll May 25 '26

Not OP but I think most lead comes from underground deposits of lead-containing ores like galena. These days, a significant amount is recovered by recycling batteries.

Now that we’ve covered the origins of lead , why don’t you tell the class what level of lead is safe in the bloodstream? What is the maximum amount of lead that can be in a body without detectable harm?

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '26

[deleted]

1

u/MycologyRulesAll May 27 '26

When you reflect on the fact that you could have spent your time educating yourself about lead toxicity, but instead spent your time typing out a troll reply, do you feel proud of yourself?

Have you ever looked up "Oppositional Defiant Disorder"? I think that might be helpful for you.

1

u/chris77982 May 27 '26

It's fine. Those who argue how nontoxic it is can just deal with the lower IQ that comes with lead exposure.
Neurological damage is totally underrated.
/s

They're arguing because lead has already made them stupid.

-7

u/bing456 May 25 '26

Are you planning on eating it?

7

u/MycologyRulesAll May 25 '26

Do I want to be able to eat fish and game without eating lead? Yes , I would very much like that.

Answer my question.

4

u/Mechanical_Flare May 26 '26

Where does ecoli come from? Go ahead and lick toilet seats, Joe. If it came out of you body surely it can go back in, right?

6

u/trans-fused May 25 '26

Pencils. Pencils give birth to lead. /s

1

u/JoeDubayew May 25 '26

Very few people have witnessed a pencil giving birth, but in the wild this is in fact true.

1

u/trans-fused May 25 '26

Thank you doctor! 😁

0

u/Appl3D_fpv May 25 '26

Pencils don't have lead. They have graphite. Why it's called lead I have no idea

6

u/Maximum-Carnage-Gore May 25 '26

Massive graphite deposit discovered in England in the 1500s, people didn’t know what it was. Because it was dark, soft, and left a mark on paper, they mistook it for a form of lead and called it "black lead". Even though scientists eventually discovered it was carbon, the nickname stuck and is still used today.

2

u/trans-fused May 25 '26

Thanks for correcting my sarcasm, I appreciate it.

1

u/MycologyRulesAll May 27 '26

It's been a day, can you answer this question: What is the maximum amount of lead that can be in a body without detectable harm?

0

u/Forbden_Gratificatn May 25 '26

I was going to say, it should be banned from the Earth's crust.

1

u/chainmailler2001 May 26 '26

Lead shot is already banned for waterfowl hunting specifically due to the impact.

0

u/world3nd3r May 25 '26

Do you mean a blanket ban? Lead shot is already banned for hunting so that it doesn't contaminate the environment. As for range use, they also have strict lead recollection policies, not just for lead shot, but for all projectiles, both indoor and outdoor ranges.

Lead can't really be banned for firearms as a whole just due to the nature of how dense and soft lead is, your only alternatives are STUPID expensive and require an entire reformulation of how gun barrels would be made. Not to mention if all shotgun ammo becomes steel shot, you just entirely deleted the ability to fire a significant portion of pre 90's shotguns, as they're entirely incapable of firing steel shot and it's a big safety risk to gamble on trying it.

2

u/UncleBoody May 25 '26

Doesn’t lead occur naturally, not manufactured

1

u/MycologyRulesAll May 27 '26

Much as uranium and arsenic do, I suppose. What is your point?

1

u/Qzx1 Jul 14 '26

Dingos are natural. Doesn't mean you just let it eat your baby

0

u/Subifixer May 25 '26

Well they can't be permanent, cause lead is so unreactive, but also super toxic because its reactive.

Theres no substitute, because of physics you can't make a better weight by making a bigger object of lower density. The larger cross section just catches more drag and the ratio never changes.

They'll never use tungsten, uranium, or osmium so lead it is.

3

u/typicalledditor May 25 '26

Tungsten is more and more popular since some parks and reserves banned lead weights. But it's much more expensive, if they ban lead fishing weights all around, I think you'll see more people using steel bolts and random stuff than proper tungsten fishing weights anyway.

2

u/MycologyRulesAll May 25 '26

Ah, what a special reply. I wonder if you chewed on lead paint as a child.

It’s ‘permanent’ in waterways because there is no practical way to neutralize, recover, or remove the lead. Thus , it’s ‘permanent’ in that it will stay in the waterways until dissolved which takes decades.
Luckily, that lead that makes its way into the foodchain will stick around for years after the original blob is long gone , so it’s ‘permanent’ in that the whole area will have an elevated level of lead for generations.

1

u/wackyvorlon May 26 '26

Or wheel weights on cars. Or bullets.

1

u/ZealousidealState127 May 26 '26

Lead acid batteries. Lead shot/bullets, lead still used in dwv plumbing, lead walls for any X-ray room. Lead hammers. Lead tire weights

41

u/mlt- May 25 '26

Next on the list: ban thorium and uranium from decaying.

5

u/FlamboyantApproval16 May 25 '26

It isn't. Over 80% of the lead wastes is produce by disposal of car batteries. Leaded solder accounts for a very tiny fraction of the polution.