A Lecture on Soldering By The Soldering Craftsman 1-12

The white smoke produced upon wire solder fusing is the evaporation of flux clad in wire solder. It may hurt human’s throat if it is breathed in, as it is a chemical compound comprised of some elements harmful to humans. Although eutectic tin solder contains very little plumbum (Pb), it may accumulate in human body if a workman is often exposed to the evaporation of the chemical element. A certain group of people are prone to have plumbum accumulated in body. People of this kind are recommended to have health check regularly, especially the plumbum amount in blood. Pregnant women are strongly advised to keep away from the exposure to the environment of eutectic tin soldering.
In order to protect workmen from directly breathing in the harmful smoke produced in soldering operation, soldering iron manufacturers nowadays promote a kind of smoke discharger, which makes the workplace ventilated and reduce the risk of harms to health. Although every workman involved in soldering needs a set, it is worthwhile for the sake of workmen’s health. It is strongly recommended to have the workplace equipped with the smoke dischargers as soon as possible.


It can be occasionally seen at soldering worksites that electric fans are used to blow out the smoke. If a fan is used blowing directly to mother metal and a soldering iron, the heat for soldering will be blowing away as well, which gives rise to the difficulty in operation. This means of ventilation is not encouraged. It is not encouraged either that the soldering operations are performed close to an air-conditioner or exposed to wind.
Hand-washing and tooth-brushing are encouraged immediately after one’s soldering job is done.