Are the fumes from (soldering) flux harmful?

To go along with the question on solder types, what about the fumes created from the flux? Most of the smoke you see while soldering is the flux burning away. Is that smoke or the fumes included in it harmful? Let me know what you think below.

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dougw over 6 years ago +9

My fume extractor road test explains a bit about the hazards of solder fumes: https://www.element14.com/community/roadTestReviews/2606/l/fume-extraction-unit-for-soldering-applications-review#commen… I…
Gough Lui over 6 years ago in reply to dougw +8

I too sometimes get that ... but not all the time. At one stage I thought I was like a cat-lover with a cat allergy ... telling me to go do something else. Now, I find it changes depending on a number…
Gough Lui over 6 years ago +6

Well, if you look at the MSDS of the nearly ubiquitous Multicore 309 solder which element14 also sells, the sheet says the following: The flux fumes given off during reflow will irritate the eyes, nose…

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jomoenginer over 6 years ago

Lead free or Leaded:
Short answer: Yes!
Long answer: Yessssssssssssssssssss!!!!!

However, there were the good old days when folks would smoke at the bench while soldering. It was like the double barrel approach. Anyone with an old bench in a lab will more than likely still have the cigarette burns still on it.
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Jan Cumps over 6 years ago in reply to jomoenginer

jomoenginer wrote:

.... Anyone with an old bench in a lab will more than likely still have the cigarette burns still on it.
Those might be solder iron burns. They were there in my school’s lab where smoking has never been alowed.
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Jan Cumps over 6 years ago in reply to jomoenginer

jomoenginer wrote:

.... Anyone with an old bench in a lab will more than likely still have the cigarette burns still on it.
Those might be solder iron burns. They were there in my school’s lab where smoking has never been alowed.
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