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Comment by tinus_hn | Hacker News Reader

You could of course try for some adequate ventilation and an enclosure instead of just ignoring the issue.

This. It's not a big deal. Soldering also produces harmful fumes and as long as you ventilate properly it's not a big deal.

Just do an image search for "solder ventilation" for ideas on how to do it.

Regardless of this I kinda do understand the motivation to ignore the issue. People are afraid that there will be a panic and it's going to be banned.

I expect that the output from a single printer won't be that bad, but it is interesting to put the "ventilate properly" comment in a wider context:

> Gosh, this process produces something that is harmful to me. But it's OK, I'll just put it outside.

Just because it is harmful to you doesn't mean that it is automatically bad for the environment. Breathing helium exclusively is bad for you, too.

It is dangerous because it's reactive. And since it's reactive it will disappear in a short while.

And some people (including myself) actually enjoy the smell of molten rosin flux.

And some people enjoy tobacco. That doesn't mean it's smart to continue breathing it in.

Yeah, the risks seem to be overblown, mostly acute lung issues if you inhale a ton of it, metal fume fever may be a possibility but seems very rare if only soldering. In a quick search I see no reports of significant long-term issues like cancer as some are suggesting.

I knew a guy that liked that smell too, he liked the cancer less.

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