3 ms·

Every ham I know has huffed so much vaporized lead and rosin in their day that I wouldn't blame their cancers on RF.

iraqmtpizza 3y ago
Dose-response is a big deal. But it could easily be p-hacking or something.
henearkr 3y ago
If the cancer is in the brain, it is less likely caused by rosin and more likely caused by radiations emitted near their head (if any). I would more naturally link rosin to respiratory system cancers, for example.
- dzhiurgis 3y ago
  So how did lead additive in fuels cause global IQ drop?
  - henearkr 3y ago
    We're not speaking of lead additive here? Soldering hazards, especially if we're speaking about cancers, is mainly related to rosin yes. Now you're willing to switch the discussion to IQ drop? From cancer?
korse 3y ago
Is huffing rosin vapor during soldering carcinogenic? I understand the lead is problematic but I never considered the flux.
- leetbulb 3y ago
  I don't know about carcinogenic, some sources say yes, but I think in general, rosins vapors and its pyrolysis products are not great to inhale as it can contain some pretty nasty chemicals. Lead on the other hand vaporizes well above soldering temperatures... Can / does rosin vapor can carry lead?
NikkiA 3y ago
The boiling point of lead is too high (1700 deg C) for it to be vapourised during soldering. Rosin has a complex molecular structure that is too big to cross the blood-brain barrier. It is a lung irritant and has an associated lung disease risk of the form of adult-onset asthma but it cannot cause brain cancer; there is no known link between rosin and any form lung cancer. Most of us don't use rosin anymore, as it's an absolutely awful flux, synthetic fluxes are more effective and don't have the same risks - although it's probably too early to say on carcinogenic risks, but needless to say with many of us gen Xers having spent our lives using synthetic flux, we'd have expected to see cancer clusters by now.
- Doxin 3y ago
  > The boiling point of lead is too high (1700 deg C) for it to be vapourised during soldering. You will definitely be getting lead dust on your hands when working with lead solder though. Hopefully most people are smart enough to wash their hands after soldering, regardless of lead content, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of hobbyists were eating lead without noticing.
  - NikkiA 3y ago
    Soldering is best done with nitrite gloves anyway, so you don't get corrosive finger oils on everything.

Dose-response is a big deal. But it could easily be p-hacking or something.

If the cancer is in the brain, it is less likely caused by rosin and more likely caused by radiations emitted near their head (if any). I would more naturally link rosin to respiratory system cancers, for example.

dzhiurgis 3y ago
So how did lead additive in fuels cause global IQ drop?
- henearkr 3y ago
  We're not speaking of lead additive here? Soldering hazards, especially if we're speaking about cancers, is mainly related to rosin yes. Now you're willing to switch the discussion to IQ drop? From cancer?

korse 3y ago

Is huffing rosin vapor during soldering carcinogenic? I understand the lead is problematic but I never considered the flux.

leetbulb 3y ago
I don't know about carcinogenic, some sources say yes, but I think in general, rosins vapors and its pyrolysis products are not great to inhale as it can contain some pretty nasty chemicals. Lead on the other hand vaporizes well above soldering temperatures... Can / does rosin vapor can carry lead?

NikkiA 3y ago

The boiling point of lead is too high (1700 deg C) for it to be vapourised during soldering. Rosin has a complex molecular structure that is too big to cross the blood-brain barrier. It is a lung irritant and has an associated lung disease risk of the form of adult-onset asthma but it cannot cause brain cancer; there is no known link between rosin and any form lung cancer. Most of us don't use rosin anymore, as it's an absolutely awful flux, synthetic fluxes are more effective and don't have the same risks - although it's probably too early to say on carcinogenic risks, but needless to say with many of us gen Xers having spent our lives using synthetic flux, we'd have expected to see cancer clusters by now.

Doxin 3y ago
> The boiling point of lead is too high (1700 deg C) for it to be vapourised during soldering. You will definitely be getting lead dust on your hands when working with lead solder though. Hopefully most people are smart enough to wash their hands after soldering, regardless of lead content, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of hobbyists were eating lead without noticing.
- NikkiA 3y ago
  Soldering is best done with nitrite gloves anyway, so you don't get corrosive finger oils on everything.