How dangerous is it for teenagers to be soldering everyday with 62/36/2 solder for an hour a day?

62/36/2 = 62% Tin, 36% Lead, and 2% Silver. I'm mostly curious as this is what my school's Electronics class makes us use. Thanks in Advance.How dangerous is it for teenagers to be soldering everyday with 62/36/2 solder for an hour a day?
Generally if you have good ventilation and have been trained not to put your face right over the plume, it will not be significantly more dangerous than other exposure that you have on a daily basis. Keep in mind that all chemicals are poison, it is just a matter of the dose that it takes to affect you.





However, if you feeling the effects of exposure or you think the ventilation is poor, it's probably worth further investigation. I doubt you have the ability to measure the concentration in milligrams per cubic meter, but you may be able to estimate it. In the text below they mention that you can smell it at about 0.07mg /m^3.





OSHA standards exist that limit the amount of exposure people should have if they are doing this for 8 hours a day for years at a time. You are probably being exposed for 6 months or a year and for 1 hour or less, so the effects to you are likely minimal.





Here is what OSHA says about it:





ROSIN CORE SOLDER PYROLYSIS PRODUCTS, AS FORMALDEHYDE CAS: None; Chemical Formula: None H.S. No. 1350





OSHA previously had no limit for rosin core solder pyrolysis products. Based on the ACGIH TLV, the Agency proposed an 8-hour TWA of 0.1 mg/m(3) for these compounds, measured as formaldehyde. OSHA has determined that a TWA limit of 0.1 mg/m(3) is necessary to prevent workers from experiencing severe irritant reactions, and the Agency is including this limit in its final rule. This limit applies to the thermal decomposition products of gum rosin soldering flux (3 to 6 percent rosin and 30 to 70 percent tin-lead solder)(Lozano and Melvin, unpublished data, as cited in ACGIH 1986/Ex. 1-3, p. 514).





A two-week exposure of guinea pigs and rats to these products at average concentrations of 0.96 mg/m(3) caused reduction in rate of weight gain in male guinea pigs, abnormal liver-to-body-weight ratios in guinea pigs of both sexes, and abnormal heart-to-body-weight ratios in male rats (Industrial Bio-test Lab, Inc., as cited in ACGIH 1986/Ex. 1-3, p. 514). Lungs of the animals exposed in this same study were hyperemic.





In humans, slight bronchial irritation has been reported at 1 mg/m(3) (Industrial Bio-test Laboratories, Inc. 1967, as cited in ACGIH 1986, p. 514). Several workers who were chronically exposed to levels as high as 0.15 mg/m(3) had to be removed from exposure because of intractable upper respiratory tract irritation; when concentrations were kept below 0.1 mg/m(3), such irritation was not reported (Christy 1965, as cited in ACGIH 1986/Ex. 1-3, p. 514). In a study designed to quantify dose-response levels for irritation in human volunteers, subjects were exposed for 15 minutes to these products at aldehyde concentrations (measured as formaldehyde, which is the best indirect measure of rosin pyrolysis products) of 0.04 to 0.2 mg/m(3) (U.S. Public Health Service 1965, as cited in ACGIH 1986/Ex. 1-3, p. 514). Subjects detected the odor at 0.07 mg/m 3, and 80 percent of subjects reported moderate to severe irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat at concentrations of 0.12 mg/m(3) or above. At levels below 0.05 mg/m(3), fewer than 10 percent of subjects experienced irritation. Mucous membrane irritation occurred in 30 percent of subjects exposed at 0.07 mg/m(3) (U.S. Public Health Service 1965, as cited in ACGIH 1986/Ex. 1-3, p. 514).





NIOSH (Ex. 8-47, Table N6B; Tr. p. 3-97 to 3-98) did not concur with OSHA's selection of a TWA limit of 0.1 mg/m(3) and recommended a ceiling limit of 0.1 ppm for a 15-minute period. In addition, NIOSH (the only commenter to the rulemaking record) considers these thermal decomposition products to be likely candidates for a separate 6(b) rulemaking.





OSHA is establishing an 8-hour TWA limit of 0.1 mg/m(3), measured as formaldehyde, for rosin core solder pyrolysis products. OSHA concludes that this limit will protect employees from the significant risk of respiratory tract irritation, which is a material impairment of health, that exists at levels above the new PEL.How dangerous is it for teenagers to be soldering everyday with 62/36/2 solder for an hour a day?
The risk from lead or other heavy metals is mainly to do with vapours, dust and other ways of getting it into the system. If it were boiling lead there would be cause for concern. If you chew on the lead solder and swallow it there may be some risk, but mostly it passes through. The fumes (from the resin flux) may be of some risk to asthmatics or others with sensitivities or allergies. That is why it is general practice to use fume extraction or filtration. I doubt there is any cause for concern. It seems reasonable to wash your hands before eating (or smoking) after using solder, or any other activity. Alcohol, cigarettes and cars are far more hazardous.





The European Union is moving away from Lead/Tin solders by regulation, to reduce the heavy metals in land fills basically, which eventually leaches into water supplies.
It seems a strange sort of school electronics class where you are actually soldering for an hour every day. Haven't they heard of breadboards, or circuit analysis software using computers?





Whatever, if you use a bit of common sense (don't directly breathe in the fumes, don't pick up your soldering iron by the hot end) you are probably more likely to get killed in a road accident while travelling to and from school than damaged by your electronics class.
The only danger is that the students may want to become engineers.