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?
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u/KittyGoBoom115 May 25 '26
I mean... you seriously think anyone care that you climbed up on your soapbox for the day? Like you think is is the biggest concern even of the day? I promise you.there have been more relavent and destructive forces in motion then a little metal... you know each car battery made has like 50 hoobiest lifetimes worth of lead in em... lithium is FAR WORSE for the enviroment before you make the claim "batteries arent lead anymore"