During the lab design phase back in 2008-ish (with Michael Soleman) , two solder fume vents were spec'd in EU229 and one in EU228.  I was not involved in those decisions, and do not know what (if any) OSHA or other requirements were applicable.  We have need of multiple solder stations in most all of our labs (EU000B, EU229, EU228, and NS212) and I'm wondering what filtration/ventilation requirements we must comply with. It would have been cost prohibitive and impractical (from a space/usage point of view) to have spec'd in sufficient fume vents for our soldering needs, so if it were all done over again, i don't think we could have justified adding a bunch of fume vents just for soldering needs.  The alternative is to install local fume extraction and filtration units that capture most of the solder fumes, filter it, and return it to the local air space.

I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but the duty on these solder stations will be very small - perhaps 1%-3%.  i.e. their use will be quite different from a manufacturing environment where a worker will be subject to solder smoke 8hrs/day.  In this case, each station might not be used more than 5-20 hrs/semester and usually no longer than an hour or two at a time.

We will be using lead-free solder, and I am looking into purchasing some solder fume extractors/filters.  My question specifically has to do with what level of filtration we need.  This has a significant cost impact - $100/station to $400~500/station.  Below are a couple example products:

FA400-4 - ~$100/station (mostly odor filtration, captures 80%+ of fumes)

FA430 - $510/station  (>99.5% particulate matter removal)

BVX-200 - $783/2-stations (>99.5% particulate matter removal)

We would like to have 9~10 solder stations in EU229, 4~8 stations in EU228, 2~4 stations in NS212, and 4 in EU000B.  

I'd appreciate any help on determining what our compliance requirements are.  

thanks!

Kassie Jahr

Facility Director and Program Coordinator for the Euler Science Complex

236 W. Reade Ave.

Upland, IN 46989-1001

Office: 765-998-4528