[rebbi]

Hi, Gang,
I raised this question in the "Chinese/Asian" thread and got a small response so I thought I'd break it out into a separate thread to hear your thoughts.
The European Union has a complex set of consumer product guidelines called ROHS, which I believe stands for Restriction Of Hazardous Substances. It seeks to reduce the presence of toxins like lead in consumer goods.
That means that mainstream consumer headphone and IEM brands that are sold in Europe must (I believe) meet the ROHS standard. In the US, however, this isn't required (but correct me if I'm wrong).
I brought this up in the aforementioned thread because many of the IEM's discussed there come from small, or "DIY" shops in mainland China and therefore don't have any such consumer safety certification. 
So, depending on the kind and amount of solder used (for example) I might be sticking something in my ear canals that contains an unacceptable amount of lead based upon that European standard. Does this concern anyone here? Would you tend to avoid "off brands" and stick with mainstream brands that adhere to the European safety standards?
I'm not looking to start a political argument here by any means. I'm just wondering if any of you find this concerning.
Cheers...

 

[Kunlun]

I would recommend avoiding ingesting earphones from any country or company.

 

[rebbi]

I would recommend avoiding ingesting earphones from any country or company.

Understood.  

 

[Object113]

Dont worry about lead , that issue way overrated. Copper and silver dangerous . Living in general dangerous.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

Lead free solder is awful. Harder to work with and the joints end up brittle and fail more easily/sooner.

I'd be more worried about those MMW scanners at the airport.

Sent from my E5803 using Tapatalk

 

[rebbi]

Lead free solder is awful. Harder to work with and the joints end up brittle and fail more easily/sooner.
 

 
Yes, as an electronics kit builder, I know that to be true.

 

[bzfrank]

Lead inside the earphone is inert. As long as you do not swallow your IEMs it does not do anything.
 
I would more be concerned with the stuff in the silicone of the buds as those have direct skin contact and may react with sweat and earwax. Earwax is fatty, thus dissolves quite a lot undesired organic compounds easily and transport them through the skin. Such substances were found recently in Chinese stuff made from silicone, e.g. baby-soothers and include Naphthalen and PAH
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene#Health_effects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon#Human_health
 
But the good news for us is that those substances are usually not used for production of silicone products, were only found in quite small amounts and only in some products. It is speculated their most likely source of contamination was the printing ink of the packaging.

 

[rebbi]

  Lead inside the earphone is inert. As long as you do not swallow your IEMs it does not do anything.
 
I would more be concerned with the stuff in the silicone of the buds as those have direct skin contact and may react with sweat and earwax. Earwax is fatty, thus dissolves quite a lot undesired organic compounds easily and transport them through the skin. Such substances were found recently in Chinese stuff made from silicone, e.g. baby-soothers and include Naphthalen and PAH
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene#Health_effects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon#Human_health
 
But the good news for us is that those substances are usually not used for production of silicone products, were only found in quite small amounts and only in some products. It is speculated their most likely source of contamination was the printing ink of the packaging.

Informative and helpful, thanks!