(Answer requested by Cydonia Robb)
You’re really asking about solder, right?
Soldering is the application of drop of molten metal to permanently secure electrical components to each other. The most common traditional soldering material is lead because it’s cheap and has a low melting point.
But it’s toxic as hell.
In many parts of the world, environmental and consumer protections disallow or minimize the routine use of lead in end-user products. In electronics, this usually means using various low-melting point alloys in place of lead.
So, in theory, a consumer product should be safe for routine handling, if you live in an area with decent environmental and consumer protections, and if the manufacturer followed the rules.
But what about opening up electronics for repair or salvage — e.g. non-routine handling?
Again, in places with good laws and responsible manufacturers, if a product contains lead, the labeling should specifically say something like “Contains Lead” or “Contains Pb” (Pb is the chemical abbreviation for plumbum — lead), or some such; perhaps even a generic “Do not recycle.”
But again, that only applies if there are good, enforced rules, and the manufacturer follows them.
Many electronic products — especially the cut-rate stuff — comes from places where environmental and consumer regulations are either absent, minimal, or unenforced.
In other parts of the world, ignorant politicians are actively dismantling environmental and consumer protections, with likely poor repercussions to come.
So, your best bet is to buy major-brand electronics from parts of the world with strong and actively-enforced environmental and consumer laws.
Absent that, it’s always safest to assume the worst: Assume there is lead in your gear, regardless of how its labeled, and treat it accordingly.
See:
- Getting the Lead Out of Electronics (National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine)
- Harmless elements can replace toxic lead in electronics (Phys.org)
- Lead (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
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“In other parts of the world, ignorant politicians are actively dismantling environmental and consumer protections, with likely poor repercussions to come.” I dispute the “In other parts of the world” part. It’s happening here, too.
I was trying to be delicate — but I agree. Trump and his minions have dismantled environmental and consumer-protection regulations across the board in the name of corporate profits. Even before covid19, US lifespan was down; pollution up. We’re all paying the price for GOP greed, and will have to pay it far into the future.
And let’s not even talk about climate change…