Agreed on not licking either! I haven't been able to find anything conclusive saying how much lead you would get in the air when soldering, but the MSDS you linked says:

> Soft soldering temperatures (<450 °C) are generally too low to generate significant amounts of metal vapors, however, metal oxide fumes/dust or flux decomposition fumes can occur.

> RECOMMENDATION:

> For frequent or prolonged soldering processes, use of a local exhaust system to avoid exposure to thermal decomposition products. For example, use fume cabinet, a hood on a flexible arm, or tip-mounted fume extraction system on the soldering iron.

So if you're only occasionally soldering up a circuit board, you stay well ventilated, and you keep the solder temperature below 450°C (my soldering iron is usually set around 280°C - 300°C) then the risk seems pretty negligible. If you take up circuit board fabrication as a career then obviously you'd take it much more seriously. I should still give unleaded solder another shot, though - maybe it's improved since last time I tried it.

>So if you're only occasionally soldering up a circuit board, you stay well ventilated, and you keep the solder temperature below 450°C (my soldering iron is usually set around 280°C - 300°C) then the risk seems pretty negligible.

I think the danger is in touching the lead directly; it's a soft metal and comes off on your hands to a certain extent, and my understanding is that some of the dross can end up as lead dust.

According to the NIOSH, just washing with soap is often not effective for removing lead from your hands,

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/safe.html

>I should still give unleaded solder another shot, though - maybe it's improved since last time I tried it.

I'm starting to look into different formulations; I'd start with the SAC305 formulation. It's like 3.5% silver and slightly more expensive, but still cheap. and widely available.

Not that I'm any good at soldering myself.