> Lead in solder is not a safety hazard unless you eat it I'm not sure this is true. I'm entirely certain that some of the lead manages to get away from the pl

> Lead in solder is not a safety hazard unless you eat it I'm not sure this is true. I'm entirely certain that some of the lead manages to get away from the place you're soldering. There's no guarantee that it won't end up on your hands or clothes and eventually in your food. Granted the risk is probably infinitesimal, but modern lead-free solder is barely any harder to work with than classic leaded solders. If you set your soldering iron a smidge hotter you'll barely notice. That said I use lead-free solder and still make a point of washing my hands after soldering. Solder has a distinct smell when used so something is getting in the air, let alone on my hands.