IAQ Monitoring in Retail Store
- Energy Efficiency Improved
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- TVOCs Monitored
Soldering fume exposure testing
Understand your employees’ exposure during soldering and desoldering. Rosin colophony surveys measure solder flux fume against EH40 workplace exposure limits and provide evidence to support your COSHH assessment.
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What is soldering fume exposure testing?
Rosin-based solder flux fume is a pollutant listed in EH40/2005 with a Long-term exposure limit of 0.05mg/m³ and a Short-term exposure limit of 0.15mg/m³.
When you heat rosin-containing flux, soldering releases fumes near the workpiece. Rosin, also called colophony, can cause occupational asthma. Your exposure depends on the flux, temperature, task duration and how effectively extraction captures fume before it reaches the breathing zone.
A soldering fume WEL test, or a rosin colophony survey, combines representative personal air sampling with a review of your soldering tasks and controls. Results are compared with the EH40 limits for rosin-based solder flux fume.
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Do you need a COSHH assessment for rosin?
Yes, under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended), you must assess the risks and prevent exposure where reasonably practicable. Where prevention is not possible, use appropriate controls, maintain them and ensure your employees understand how to use them.
Rosin-based solder flux fume is an asthmagen. Adequate control requires good control practice, compliance with the applicable WELs and reduction of exposure as low as reasonably practicable. Exposure testing supplies evidence for your assessment; it does not replace the assessment or establish compliance on its own.
What colophony surveys deliver
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Step 1
Personal exposure data
Samples are taken in the breathing zone of the welder across representative soldering tasks, then analysed for rosin and relevant chemicals and reported as 8-hour or 15-minute averages against their EH40 limits.
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Step 2
Task and control review
We look at the soldering processes, materials and consumables, and at whether LEV, fume-reducing techniques and RPE are doing their job, so results can be traced back to specific tasks.
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Step 3
A clear next step
A tailored report with results against the WEL, the calculation behind them, and practical recommendations such as improved extraction, process changes, RPE selection and re-testing after changes.
How is soldering fume exposure testing carried out?
A personal sampling pump draws a measured volume of air through a filter positioned close to your employee’s breathing zone during representative work. The laboratory determines resin acid content, rather than relying on a general dust or TVOC reading.
Relevant Case Studies
Newquay Office TVOC Testing
- Odour Complaint from Local Airport Fumes
- VOC Types Identified
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Wiltshire Vehicle Depot IAQ Monitoring
- Two Sampling Types Deployed
- Airflow Rates Professionally Measured
- High TVOC Issue Identified
Understanding your responsibilities under COSHH and EH40
Under COSHH, employers are legally required to prevent or adequately control exposure to hazardous substances. When dealing with soldering — specifically colophony-based flux fumes, which are a known cause of occupational asthma —you must prioritise engineering controls like local exhaust ventilation (LEV).
Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) should only be used as a back-up for residual risks, and individual exposure must stay well within the WEL set out in EH40. If your staff are regularly exposed, health surveillance (such as routine lung function checks) is a legal requirement.
Why choose ARM for solder fume workplace exposure testing?
We don't just measure solder fume. We trace exposure back to the processes, materials and controls behind it, then report in plain English with next steps you can act on. We are air quality specialists, using current best-practice frameworks to guide every assessment.
We're SafeContractor and BESA certified, and we play an active role in shaping UK standards like BS 40102. Whether you need a one-off soldering fume exposure assessment or ongoing monitoring support, we deliver clear results you can act on.
