4 ms·

The boiling point of lead is 1749 °C (3180 °F).

by the-dude 5y ago

turminal 5y ago
That by itself does not imply fumes cannot form at lower temperatures.
- the-dude 5y ago
  Great. If we follow this line, standing next to a roll of solder is just as dangerous. No need to fire up the iron. If lead was so easily dissolved into air, wouldn't we have had massive issues in electronics factories? I don't recall ever reading such a thing ( as opposed to painters madness for example ). Not a native speaker, probably doesn't translate too well.
  - the_jeremy 5y ago
    Mad Hatter[0] is a good example in English. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erethism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erethism
  - kadoban 5y ago
    Or you could just look at the actual material property that matters, which I believe is called vapor pressure.
  - mcguire 5y ago
    "Results showed that the mean PbB concentration of the exposed workers (6.12 +4.61 µg/dl) was significantly higher than that of the unexposed workers (4.63+3.91 µg/dl ) (z = 4.96; p = 0.001). There was a significant association between the blood lead concentrations with the exposure to lead (2 = 437.72; p = 0.001)." (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271077842_Occupational_Lead_Exposure_of_Soldering_Workers_in_an_Electronic_Factory https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271077842_Occupatio...) "Epidemiological and experimental studies indicate that chronic exposure resulting in blood lead levels (BLL) as low as 10 µg/dL in adults are associated with impaired kidney function, high blood pressure, nervous system and neurobehavioral effects, cognitive dysfunction later in life, and subtle cognitive effects attributed to prenatal exposure. Pregnant women need to be especially concerned with reducing BLL since this can have serious impact on the developing fetus." (https://www.osha.gov/lead/health-effects https://www.osha.gov/lead/health-effects)
    - amatecha 5y ago
      is that because they inhaled it in fumes, or because they touched it? or something else?
xmodem 5y ago
The boiling point of water is 100 °C, and yet my shower seems to produce an awful lot of steam despite not being anywhere close to that.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- at_a_remove 5y ago
  You have confused steam with small water droplets, akin to what emerges from an ultrasonic mister. If it were steam, you would be shrieking and then dead.
  - B1FF_PSUVM 5y ago
    Good point. Also, steam is invisible. What we see - e.g. from a boiling kettle - is condensation.
  - deathanatos 5y ago
    But it's still water, and it's still moving up and about of its own accord in the local air which is the point. That it isn't technically steam doesn't disprove the point the person you're responding to is trying to make… The commenter's point isn't that the lead has technically been boiled, it's that, if we analogize to "steam" in a shower, I don't have to reach water's boiling point before I'm breathing in water. Does that translate to lead: i.e., even if I'm below lead's boiling point, could I be nonetheless breathing in lead vapor, or something like that? (I don't know the answer here, which would push me towards lead-free solder. I.e., I don't know if the precautions I'd take with lead would actually suffice.)
    - at_a_remove 5y ago
      That's the reason I was being persnickety and "science-y" about terms: analogies can lead you astray. You don't know the answer here, and so your options are: 1) do some experiments, 2) reason by science, not analogy. I have some weightlifting plates. Pure iron. Can I forego iron in my diet and just ... sit next to them? Now, by analogy, sure. Practically? Probably not. Here's one for you: what do you think happens if you drank a glass of pure liquid mercury? Most people think you'd die on the spot. Wrong! That mercury hasn't sublimated into mercury vapor. Instead, it barrels through your alimentary canal like a shot and was used to treat constipation, of all things. It is poorly absorbed by digestion and just runs right through you. Phase changes matter for these things.

The boiling point of lead is 1749 °C (3180 °F).

turminal 5y ago

That by itself does not imply fumes cannot form at lower temperatures.

the-dude 5y ago
Great. If we follow this line, standing next to a roll of solder is just as dangerous. No need to fire up the iron. If lead was so easily dissolved into air, wouldn't we have had massive issues in electronics factories? I don't recall ever reading such a thing ( as opposed to painters madness for example ). Not a native speaker, probably doesn't translate too well.
- the_jeremy 5y ago
  Mad Hatter[0] is a good example in English. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erethism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erethism
- kadoban 5y ago
  Or you could just look at the actual material property that matters, which I believe is called vapor pressure.
- mcguire 5y ago
  "Results showed that the mean PbB concentration of the exposed workers (6.12 +4.61 µg/dl) was significantly higher than that of the unexposed workers (4.63+3.91 µg/dl ) (z = 4.96; p = 0.001). There was a significant association between the blood lead concentrations with the exposure to lead (2 = 437.72; p = 0.001)." (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271077842_Occupational_Lead_Exposure_of_Soldering_Workers_in_an_Electronic_Factory https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271077842_Occupatio...) "Epidemiological and experimental studies indicate that chronic exposure resulting in blood lead levels (BLL) as low as 10 µg/dL in adults are associated with impaired kidney function, high blood pressure, nervous system and neurobehavioral effects, cognitive dysfunction later in life, and subtle cognitive effects attributed to prenatal exposure. Pregnant women need to be especially concerned with reducing BLL since this can have serious impact on the developing fetus." (https://www.osha.gov/lead/health-effects https://www.osha.gov/lead/health-effects)
  - amatecha 5y ago
    is that because they inhaled it in fumes, or because they touched it? or something else?

xmodem 5y ago

The boiling point of water is 100 °C, and yet my shower seems to produce an awful lot of steam despite not being anywhere close to that.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
at_a_remove 5y ago
You have confused steam with small water droplets, akin to what emerges from an ultrasonic mister. If it were steam, you would be shrieking and then dead.
- B1FF_PSUVM 5y ago
  Good point. Also, steam is invisible. What we see - e.g. from a boiling kettle - is condensation.
- deathanatos 5y ago
  But it's still water, and it's still moving up and about of its own accord in the local air which is the point. That it isn't technically steam doesn't disprove the point the person you're responding to is trying to make… The commenter's point isn't that the lead has technically been boiled, it's that, if we analogize to "steam" in a shower, I don't have to reach water's boiling point before I'm breathing in water. Does that translate to lead: i.e., even if I'm below lead's boiling point, could I be nonetheless breathing in lead vapor, or something like that? (I don't know the answer here, which would push me towards lead-free solder. I.e., I don't know if the precautions I'd take with lead would actually suffice.)
  - at_a_remove 5y ago
    That's the reason I was being persnickety and "science-y" about terms: analogies can lead you astray. You don't know the answer here, and so your options are: 1) do some experiments, 2) reason by science, not analogy. I have some weightlifting plates. Pure iron. Can I forego iron in my diet and just ... sit next to them? Now, by analogy, sure. Practically? Probably not. Here's one for you: what do you think happens if you drank a glass of pure liquid mercury? Most people think you'd die on the spot. Wrong! That mercury hasn't sublimated into mercury vapor. Instead, it barrels through your alimentary canal like a shot and was used to treat constipation, of all things. It is poorly absorbed by digestion and just runs right through you. Phase changes matter for these things.