Lead level blood test

[DrGonz78]

A big problem is flooding from old mines running water into drinking water supplies. Spewing high lead and arsenic levels into the water supply. I know someone who has been exposed and their autonomic system is prone to failure. Just a ticking time bomb.

I minimize my exposure to solder as much as possible. When I first started I would practice soldering as much as possible. Now I get in there and get out like a surgeon. Always wash your hands and face with soap. Try not to huff solder fumes no matter how pleasant it may be.

[nosaj]

It is much more interesting to determine the amount of gold in the body to understand how valuable you are.

About $17 dollars last i heard.
nosaj

[stokes]

When I was working back in the early 80's we had 2 range instructors that seemed to both lose their minds at the same time. Turned out they had severe lead poisoning from the range. The small range we used had no ventilation and all the ammo was non jacketed lead. They were in there everyday for about 8 yrs before the problem manifested itself. I wouldnt be concerned with the small amount you may get at a soldering station. Oh, and they both recovered just fine.

[John_H]

The gun range scenario is probably as high a concentration of lead that you'll find. Cleaning those floors has to be toxic. If not for that toxicity lead would be a wonder metal. Until the dangers were known it was ubiquitous. Still for many purposes, it's the only choice. I worked on medical office buildings and hospitals regularly. Lead lined doors and frames were a common part of my job. Big heavy ones because some of that imaging equipment is quite large..

[Chuck H]

I haven't researched this, but...

The "lead" in paint was actually lead oxide (which is white and used as pigment). Which surely has a different solubility than metalic lead. The same probably applies to vaporized lead like what you get with heated solder. Obviously lead concentrated in any environment is bad. But perhaps that's because the eventual lead oxide concentration becomes higher. There may not be much danger in handling metallic lead. Just thinking out loud now and I'll get to looking into this at some point.

This would explain why Justin (and myself, even to this day) aren't having problems due to the amount of fishing weights we've been biting into.

[Justin Thomas]

Not sure if you've ever used lead paint Chuck, but I got the privilege of repainting the yellow lines in the parking lot of the pharmacy I worked at ('06-'12). The owner told me to go pick up some yellow traffic paint at the hardware store. I don't remember whether it seemed stupidly expensive or ridiculously cheap at the time. Definitely a different texture than what I was used to. Don't worry, I used a brush instead of a sprayer. And I overrode my curiosity & didn't drink any.

Jusrin

[Chuck H]

Not sure if you've ever used lead paint Chuck, but I got the privilege of repainting the yellow lines in the parking lot of the pharmacy I worked at ('06-'12). The owner told me to go pick up some yellow traffic paint at the hardware store. I don't remember whether it seemed stupidly expensive or ridiculously cheap at the time. Definitely a different texture than what I was used to. Don't worry, I used a brush instead of a sprayer. And I overrode my curiosity & didn't drink any.

Jusrin

That's my first laugh of the morning. Thank you!

I haven't used lead paint. As mentioned above it hasn't been manufactured since the late 70's. But I've scraped and sanded Hefty bags full of the stuff. Including the job I'm working now. Doing lead abatement work has A LOT of stringencies so we fly under the radar whenever possible because we wouldn't get the work otherwise. We wear masks and gloves but that's far shy of ideal. Not sure how much I've ingested and I've never been tested. This and the removal of old asbestos cielings. It's unavoidable blue collar consequences so with classic macho attitude I don't want to know. I don't have an evac system for my electronics bench either but I do have the soldering station near a window with a fan in it that sucks the fumes outside while I work. Also far shy of ideal. It works pretty well though and I rarely even smell the fumes while I'm soldering.

[Tom Phillips]

I have researched the fume hazards created when working with lead solder. There are a lot of figures stated in various articles and random amateur web postings.

Overall, I believe that the smoke one sees when doing normal soldering is burning flux rather than vaporized lead. The most reasonable data I found was "Based on standard soldering iron temperatures of 620°F-700°F and the melting point of lead (621°F), it is unlikely that lead fume will be generated during electronic soldering, unless the solder is heated to lead's vaporization temperature of 3182°F"

I also believe that it's best to avoid the fumes produced when soldering. Short of using a fume extraction system, a fan to create some airflow over the work area is useful so you are not breathing full strength fumes rising up into your face as you solder. I have not looked up the hazards of the flux smoke but I certainly want to minimize breathing any such smoke.

[Justin Thomas]

I have not looked up the hazards of the flux smoke but I certainly want to minimize breathing any such smoke.

Having lived with someone with a chronic degenerative lung disease for several years, I am of the not-so-humble opinion that regularly inhaling ANY smoke or fumes is deleterious to the health of the human organism.

Jusrin

[Justin Thomas]

And, Chuck - go to the hardware store and ask for traffic paint. It should still have lead in it. At least the yellow does.

Jusrin

[Tom Phillips]

And, Chuck - go to the hardware store and ask for traffic paint. It should still have lead in it. At least the yellow does.
Jusrin

Probably not in California. There are many chemicals that I personally could use safely that are banned in California because they are unsafe when used in an unsafe manner by idiots.

[nosaj]

Probably not in California. There are many chemicals that I personally could use safely that are banned in California because they are unsafe when used in an unsafe manner by idiots.

Can't have any of those crazy Kalifornia Kids licking traffic stripes to get dumb.
nosa

[Chuck H]

Can't have any of those crazy Kalifornia Kids licking traffic stripes to get dumb.
nosa

No no. That's not how it works. First you have to rub the stripe with a cane toad and THEN lick the stripe.

[Chuck H]

I have researched the fume hazards created when working with lead solder. There are a lot of figures stated in various articles and random amateur web postings.

Overall, I believe that the smoke one sees when doing normal soldering is burning flux rather than vaporized lead. The most reasonable data I found was "Based on standard soldering iron temperatures of 620°F-700°F and the melting point of lead (621°F), it is unlikely that lead fume will be generated during electronic soldering, unless the solder is heated to lead's vaporization temperature of 3182°F"

I also believe that it's best to avoid the fumes produced when soldering. Short of using a fume extraction system, a fan to create some airflow over the work area is useful so you are not breathing full strength fumes rising up into your face as you solder. I have not looked up the hazards of the flux smoke but I certainly want to minimize breathing any such smoke.

Obviously lead is not water, but...

Considering that water in it's liquid state vaporizes into the surrounding atmosphere long before reaching it's gaseous temperature I'd be reticent to assume lead in it's liquid state does not vaporize before reaching it's gaseous temperature. But I haven't read the studies. I know that it tends to be very dry where temperatures stay below freezing even when liquid water is present. So it's probable that atmosperic temperature relative to liquid state temperature have a lot to do with vaporization and lead fumes from soldering are almost a non issue because typical atmospheric temperatures where lead is melted remain below 621F. Except maybe in Vegas