CobaltChloride
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Lead-containing alloy casting safety
I would like to cast something using some bars of 60Sn/40Pb solder I have (they don't have a rosin core). What are the safety measures that I need to
take to avoid lead poisoning? I know that I shouldn't eat, smoke or drink in the area where I do the casting and that I should always thoroughly wash
my hands after handling lead. I plan to use a respirator with 3M 6006 filter plus a N95 or a P100 particulate filter and gloves as far as PPE for
avoiding lead exposure goes (I will also use the protective equipment I have for molten metals, but this is not worth talking about here as it's not
he purpose of the thread). The casting will be done in a shed with a big open window. Is this enough to not get lead poisoning? I only plan to do it
two or three times, each time with about 200 g of alloy. Sorry if I'm being overly cautious, but I haven't really seen any information about this. I
only know that my grandfather has used this type of soldering alloy for more than 30 years in a poorly ventilated room without getting lead poisoning,
so I might be overestimating the danger a bit.
[Edited on 3-3-2018 by CobaltChloride]
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Deathunter88
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As long as you don't heat the mixture to lead's boiling point, you will be fine without any protective equipment. Given that is 1750 degrees Celcius,
you wont be reaching that anytime soon, so you have nothing to worry about. If you are still worried, just don't heat it much past its melting point.
People solder electronic circuit boards don't have protection against the lead, and I don't know any that got lead poisoning. (In fact, the exhaust
they use is for the rosin smoke, not lead fumes).
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DavidJR
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You’ll be fine, countless people work with lead solder and there’s really no need for a respirator etc. It’s good practice to wash hands after
handling lead but realistically the bioavailability of elemental lead is pretty low so it’s unlikely to cause you any problems.
Rosin/colophony flux fumes are definitely not good for you though, but there are more modern synthetic fluxes which aren’t as bad in that respect.
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elementcollector1
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Lead poisoning is chronic in nature, meaning it usually happens after many, many years of constant exposure. Melting lead once won't do much of
anything to you.
Elements Collected:52/87
Latest Acquired: Cl
Next in Line: Nd
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CobaltChloride
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Just as I thought, I was overestimating the danger. Thank you for your replies!
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Rogeryermaw
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being safety minded is a good start. Please keep that up. Lead, however much like mercury, is unfairly demonized. These elements themselves are of
very limited danger. Their soluble salts, on the other hand, are very toxic and yes, safety measures should be learned, ingrained and strictly adhered
to.
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