Overview
Solder and solder-contaminated materials are not properly collected and tagged for pick up by EHS
- You may be wondering why there is a specific checklist item related to soldering waste. There is nothing specific to soldering processes in the hazardous waste regulations.
- This checklist item was added because it is a wide-spread practice across many disciplines on campus, and we were noting consistent discard of potentially regulated soldering waste.
- If a lab has a soldering iron, confirm that it is used for soldering activities. If it is used for the intended purpose, then they will need an EHS collection container for proper accumulation of solder pieces, drips, sponges or any other materials that may be contaminated with solder. Most solder contains lead and some of the lead-free options have silver. Wastes from both solder types would be considered hazardous.
- If you do not see one of these collection containers, ask the laboratory staff how they manage their soldering waste. If they are collecting and tagging for EHS pickup in some manner other than one of our containers, do not cite this checklist item. Cite it if they are not collecting soldering waste for collection by EHS. Nevertheless, if they conduct soldering, even occasionally, arrange to have one of our collection containers placed in the lab.