SOP #413C: Lead Solder Work Control

Purpose and Scope

To formalize a department policy that provides guidance for the protection of personnel engaged in lead soldering operations.

This document promotes awareness of safety hazards and precautions to be taken during lead soldering activities, ensuring compliance with appropriate safety, health, and environmental standards and regulations.

Policy

In order to eliminate potential occupational lead exposure, workers that lead solder must comply with all of the established safety precautions contained in this procedure. If they are observed violating industrial hygiene best practices and guidance methods they could be subject to departmental discipline.

Introduction

Lead has been used extensively in the past throughout the University, primarily in building construction, in pipe joints, flashings, down spouts, shielding, etc. It should be noted that lead dust and fumes poisoning through ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption is extremely rare when workers have used reasonable safety precautions and have paid close attention to industrial hygiene best management work practices. It is of utmost importance that PFD sheet metal workers follow the guidance contained in this procedure while performing lead soldering operations.

Potential Hazards Information

Lead is a known neurotoxin and can pose significant chronic health effects, if the lead-containing soldering material is not safely handled, workers may be inadvertently exposed. However, when solder is being handled and treated appropriately, there is minimal hazard to any person working with lead solder.

Soldering with lead (or other metals used in soldering) may produce fumes that can be hazardous. In addition, using flux containing rosin (also called colophony) produces solder fumes that, if inhaled, can cause eye and upper respiratory tract irritation. Avoid inhalation of soldering smoke/fumes by keeping your head to the side of, not above the work process. The addition of a small fan that blows from behind across the work area can help move unwanted fumes away from the breathing zone.

It is not expected that occasional soldering activities that take place within work areas that are well ventilated or have additional local exhaust ventilation will pose an occupational hazard to employees. However, it is prudent to implement best industrial hygiene practices regardless of the frequency and duration of lead soldering work evolutions.

Responsibilities

The Physical Facilities Department’s Safety Coordinator is responsible for completing a safety assessment for PFD job classifications (such as Sheet Metal Workers) identifying task-specific work duties, potential job hazards and personal protective equipment required to complete work safely. (See attached safety assessment)

The Physical Facilities Department Manager and/or Supervisor is responsible for notifying the PFD Safety Coordinator (EHSO) of changes in job descriptions and/or employee work tasks that may result in rendering the initial hazard assessments as being unrepresentative. Examples of this include a change in job responsibilities and a change in work methodology. (Example: implementation of grinding and/or sanding lead seams, creating a potential lead particle exposure hazard)

Employees are responsible for following best practice industrial hygiene methods, using required personal protective equipment, engineering controls and adhering to supervisory and administrative work practice controls.

Job Procedure/Precautions

The following procedure/safety precautions are listed to help protect the worker from possible hazards in accordance with guidelines established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Ohio Department of Health.

Protecting the employee with safe work procedures/precautions and best Industrial Hygiene practices. Please see the following:

Precautions must be followed during lead soldering repair work project activities where reheating of or applying new lead solder is undertaken, with due consideration for personal safety, utilizing adequate ventilation and personal protective equipment.
Overheating of an alloy can produce metal fumes and oxides. Operations such as grinding, sawing, sanding or buffing in the work area can generate hazardous airborne particulate. The exposure potential goes up for employees when these activities are permitted to be carried out during field operations.
When the decision is made to grind or sand leaded seams with a grinding wheel or sanding equipment the employee must wear, at a minimum, a half-face air purifying respirator with either N-95 or P-100 filter cartridges
The use of half-faced air purifying respirators fitted with either N-95 or P-100 filters is required for lead soldering applications where adequate ventilation cannot be provided and work activities which have potential to generate dust or fumes can’t be avoided. Employees who use lead-based solder must be fit tested for use of approved respiratory protection.
Any work method that keeps lead solder dust to a minimum is acceptable. HEPA vacuuming of lead solder dust is preferred. Do not use compressed air for cleaning up the work area
Avoid inhalation or ingestion. Practice good housekeeping and personal hygiene on each job task. A shower is recommended if you know that dust/or fume exposure has, in fact, occurred.
Avoid ingestion of possible lead surface contamination by keeping soldering areas clean of dust/debris.
Wash your hands and face before you eat, drink, smoke, or touch your face after working with lead solder.
Eat, drink or smoke only in areas free of lead dust and fumes.
Do not enter a transportation vehicle, lunchroom or break room wearing lead contaminated clothing – keep any form of lead contamination at the job site. Lead soldering sheet metal workers are required to carry a personal protective equipment work bag to the job site; containing PPE (safety glasses and work gloves) and clothing cover (Tyvek) to wear protecting against lead/fume contamination of their personal clothing. They are required to outfit themselves at the job site with appropriate protective safety gear, prior to beginning lead soldering activities. Upon completion of the job task, they will carefully remove the Tyvek clothing cover and safety gear, place it back in the bag and move out of the area without spreading lead dust/debris. The cover clothing and gloves shall be discarded as waste and be replaced on a regular basis.
Industrial hygiene best management practices will prevail at the job site to eliminate “take home lead” that has the potential to contaminate the employee’s personal vehicle, their home, and potentially harm the family, especially young children.
Protective Clothing – To prevent burns from hot solder splash, long sleeve shirts and long pants that are made of natural fibers (cotton) are required to be worn under the Tyvek coveralls. Also, closed-toe leather shoes shall be worn by the worker during soldering activities.
The worker shall wear heat resistant gloves to protect the hands and also keep the hands clean from lead dust/debris.
The worker shall wear eye protection (safety glasses or vented goggles) during lead soldering work evolutions. During soldering work operations, debris can “spit out” any direction, causing a potential eye hazard to the worker.

General

The most effective way to protect workers from lead solder hazards is to eliminate the use of lead solder where possible, minimize their exposure through engineering controls, good work practices, training, and the use of personal protective clothing and equipment, including respirators, where required. Engineering controls include isolation, process/equipment modification and local ventilation. Some fundamental and easily implemented work practices are good housekeeping, appropriate personal hygiene practices, periodic inspection and maintenance of process and control equipment, proper procedures to perform a task, and appropriate supervision to ensure that the proper procedures are followed.

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