[grozzle]

You've mis-interpreted why I commented.

aerospace is a small part of what soldering is used for, globally. the majority is consumer electronics.

keeping lead out of people's homes is a valuable public-health move, not a needless "clusterfuck", as the comment I replied to said.

[tharkun__]

Fair enough though I wonder how a user would come in contact with lead from solder in say my laptop? Genuinely curious.

As a hobbyist I use lead free and I bet the rosin flux burning off if I make a boo boo is bad either way, lead or not. It's in both types.

About worker health in consumer electronics sure we can talk. But let's include the flux question in that too.

[wannacboatmovie]

Are you planning to eat your laptop? If no, your risk is basically zero.

As for your hobbyist work, the flux used in lead-free solder is actually worse if you breathe it in:

It was widely believed that the move to lead-free soldering would create more environmentally-friendly conditions; however because of the higher temperatures required and extra flux used lead-free soldering smoke emissions actually contain more fine dust particles which are easier to breathe in. As Fig.1 shows, these penetrate further into the lungs than pollen or asbestos, reaching and blocking the alveoli.

https://uk.farnell.com/essential-considerations-for-managing...