Lead-free soldering creates more unhealthy gases

Therefore, even higher demands are placed on ensuring a good working environment during the soldering process

Occupational asthma is an important issue in the electronics industry because once a person has developed asthma, they must be moved from their area of work. In some countries asthma, due to solder smoke/isocyanates, has led to legal action by employees. Medical data from the UK on work-related asthma show that workers in the electronics industry (hand soldering) are overrepresented in the population and are found in third place immediately after construction workers and farmworkers.

Definition

"Occupational Asthma is a disease characterized by varying degrees of respiratory and / or hypersensitive airways due to causes and conditions that are attributable to a particular occupational environment and not to stimuli experienced outside the workplace." -Bernstein at al 1993

Here are the health problems related to smoke and gases in the electronics industry

• Irritation of the respiratory tract and mucous membranes
• Irritation in the eyes
• Eczema and skin allergy
• Bronchitis
• Work-related asthma
• Reduced lung capacity

Health risks related to particles and gases that arise during soft soldering

• Respiratory tract (asthma)
• Eyes (red eyes, itching)
• Skin (irritation to open wounds)

Air pollutants created by soft soldering

• Dust (salt from fluxes, metal oxides)
• VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
• Acids (aerosols from condensed flux)

Is lead-free a health risk?

The EU has developed the ROHS Directive, which restricts the use of harmful substances in WEEE (electrical and electronic products). WEEE shall not contain lead, with certain exceptions being formulated. RoHS requires lead-free solder from July 1, 2006.

Important! Even when products are water-based, green and environmentally friendly, it does NOT mean that they are harmless to humans.

A good work environment is a profitable investment

Improve the indoor climate with recirculating filter systems. Studies of ventilation needs show that many buildings have too poor ventilation to create the healthy and comfortable indoor climate required to achieve the best productivity. Higher air turnover leads to extensive investments and increasing operating costs. The need for air exchange can be reduced if we reduce the pollutants in the indoor air. One way is to use point extraction and local recirculating filter systems.

We do not need to calculate how large our costs will be due to high sickness absences and how the reduced productivity affects our results. Investing in a good working environment will always be profitable. Therefore, get a smoke extractor before your employees become ill.

General requirements for ventilation

Dimensioning of a building's ventilation needs is governed by comfort, air quality and thermal load from the industrial process. An average value for the ventilation requirement is 5 air changes per hour. Recommended air exchange is 4 - 10 l / s (15 - 35 m3 / h) per person.

If smoking is allowed, some countries require that the air exchange be increased 3 times.

Depending on the capacity of the gas filter medium, it is necessary to use another material that can regenerate the carbon through a chemical process or capture.

smaller concentrations of gas molecules. Purafil is used for this purpose. This extends the life of the filter considerably and also gives the advantage particles are strongly crucial for the life of the filter. Most filter units are equipped with filter monitoring that indicates when the filter should be replaced. The filter units have a unique micro/gas filter concept, which has been tested by third parties.