Occupational Health and Safety Solder_fume_extraction
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solder fume extraction

WHAT IS HAZARDOUS ABOUT SOLDER FUME?

Solder fume (also known as colophony) is a complex fume containing particles and gases that are hazardous to health if inhaled. This section is dedicated to the laws and regulations that are in place to protect the health and safety of personnel who may be exposed to solder fume and to protect the companies who employ them from compensation claims.

Effects of Occupational Asthma

REGULATIONS:
Many health and safety regulations worldwide such as COSHH in the UK and OSHA in the USA state that:

“the employer must not expose personnel to substances that are hazardous to health”

and

“should constantly monitor process exhaust gases for fume and particulate levels”


Personnel who are exposed to hazardous material can develop long term, serious medical conditions and it is the employer who may face expensive compensation claims as a result. Links to regulations in different countries can be found on the left

KEY TOXICOLOGICAL ELEMENTS PRODUCED DURING SOLDERING:
In order to design a safe extraction and filtration system, we need to understand what fumes are emitted when soldering and what the characteristics of the particles and gas are.

Solder fume can contain many of the compounds shown below, of which approximately 99.5% are particles and 0.5% are gases. The design of any filtration system should take these facts into account as these fumes can pose a serious danger to the health of employees who are exposed to them.

  • Lead oxide
  • Carbon monoxide
  • V.O.C (volatile organic compounds)
  • Abietic acid
  • Pimaric acid
  • Aliphatic aldehydes
  • Hydrochloric acid
  • Isocyanates
  • Isopropyl alcohol

TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF COLOPHONY:
Solder fume is one of the top causes of occupational asthma in the workplace. This is caused by respiratory sensitisers, which are substances that when breathed in can trigger an irreversible allergenic reaction in the respiratory system. Once this sensitisation reaction has taken place, further exposure to the substance, even the tiniest trace, will produce symptoms.


Once a person is sensitised, continued exposure can result in permanent damage to the lungs and increasingly severe symptoms. Because of this, some people have been unable to return to soldering work for the rest of their lives.

Other medical conditions that can also occur are:


Skin irritation
Allergenic conditions
Bronchitis
Sionasal cancer
Carcinogenic (heart/lung) diseases

conditions caused by solder fume

WHAT TO DO NOW?
Having identified the need for fume extraction equipment you can:

 

soldering iron fume

 

lead_free_soldering

 

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Purex International Ltd. Solder Fume Extraction Systems
Purex House, Farfield Park, Manvers, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S63 5DB, UK • Tel: +44 (0)1709 763000 | Fax: +44 (0)1709 763001
358 Joseph Carrier Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada J7V 5V5 • Tel: Toll Free: +1 888-655-8455 | Fax: +1 450-424-4665

Email: info@solderfume.co.uk | Web: http://www.solderfume.co.uk

Registered in England 5136616: Registered Office: Purex International Ltd, Purex House, Farfield Park, Manvers, Rotherham, S63 5DB