Soldering Equipment, Not Specified
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Communication & Entertainment · CPSC Code 859
Down 24% over 5 years
The verdict
Soldering Equipment, Not Specified carry a danger score of 27/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 376 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 24% over the last five years.
- 27/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 376
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 1.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 859 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 27/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for soldering equipment, not specified - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume376 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)1.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-24%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Soldering Equipment, Not Specified (CPSC product code 859, in the Home Communication & Entertainment category) generate an estimated 376 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 7,520 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 27/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 24% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2008 (702 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2011 (114 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for soldering equipment, not specified is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 870 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the finger (775 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,320 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 1.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how soldering equipment, not specified fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 435 | 235 | |
| 5-14 | 282 | 243 | |
| 15-24 | 1,248 | 72 | |
| 25-34 | 869 | 225 | |
| 35-44 | 1,216 | 86 | |
| 45-54 | 1,115 | 150 | |
| 55-64 | 919 | 15 | |
| 65-74 | 309 | 70 | |
| 75+ | 15 | 16 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| Eyeball | Foreign Body | |
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Eyeball | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Leg | Burns, Thermal | |
| Finger | Other | |
| Head | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
55 YOM INTO ER WITH LEFT ARM ITCHING. IT STARTED WHEN WOKE UP THIS MORNING. HE HAS A SMALL WOUND TO LEFT FOREARM FROM A BURN FROM SOLDERING THINGS LAST NIGHT. HE STATES THAT PART OF THE THINGS HE WAS SOLDERING FELL ONTO HIS ARM AND BURNED HIM. DX: LOCALIZED HIVES AND BURN OF LEFT FOREARM
61YOM WAS SOLDERING PVC PIPE AND HE BELIEVES THAT THE INHALATION CHEMICAL IRRITATED DX: EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL IRRITANT
21 YOM WAS SOLDERING WHEN HIS HAND SLIPPED AND HE POKED HIMSELF IN THE EYE WITH THE END OF THE HOT COPPER WIRE +RIGHT EYE PAIN DX CORNEAL ABRASION, TRAUMATIC IRITIS
22YOM PATIENT STATES HE WAS BRANDED ON HIS CHEST WITH A BRANDING IRON 2 NIGHTS AGO, WHILE DRINKING WITH FRIENDS, BAL NOT COLLECTED, HE STATES THE BURN IS TENDER AND LOOKS INFECTED DX: CELLULITIS
30YOM THINKS PART OF SOLDER OR METAL BOUNCED INTO EYE. DX: FOREIGN BODY OF RIGHT EXTERNAL EYE.
52 YOM WAS SOLDERING SOMETHING AROUND THE WINDOW WHEN IT CAUGHT FIRE AND HE PUT THE FIRE OUT WITH HIS HANDS. +PARTIAL-THICKNESS BURNS TO HANDS WITH SUPERFICIAL BURNS TO FOREARMS. NO FD. DX PARTIAL-THICKNESS BURNS
52YOM REPORTS HE WAS SODDERING AND A PIECE OF MATERIAL FLEW INTO HIS EYE. PT THEN HAD IMMEDIATE SCRATCHINESS, LIKE SOMETHING WAS IN HIS EYE. REPORT INDICATES A FOREIGN BODY IS PRESENT TO HIS L EYE. DX: SUPERFICIAL INJURY OF CORNEA; ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION
37YOM COMPLAINT OF UNABLE TO SEE OUT OF LEFT EYE. WAS SOLDERING ELECTRONICS AND NOT WEARING SAFETY GLASSES. DX: CONJUNCTIVITIS, ABNORMAL VISION.
29YOM PT INTOXICATED, BURNED SKIN ON LEFT ARM ON A SODERING IRON TO 'SEE IF IT WAS HOT YET'. PT ALSO STRUCK HEAD, + LOC - BAL 401. PT HAS MADE STATEMENTS ABOUT NOT WANTING TO LIVE ANYMORE DX: ETOH INTOXICATION, HEAD INJURY #
17 YOM-BURNED FINGER ON A SOLDERING IRON AT HOME DX: FINGER BURN
62YOM WAS SOLDERING UNDERNEATH HIS HOUSE WHICH CAUGHT ON FIRE. NOT STATED IF FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS INVOLVED. DX: FACIAL BURNS, CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE, INHALATION INJURY
31YOF SUSTAINED BURN TO ABDOMEN FROM ?SOLDERING IRON AND BELIEVES WOUND IS INFECTED, LWBS, NO DX
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
X-Tronic Model 5040-XTS product burst into flames while in use in my home. Product was destroyed by fire. Because I was in the room when it happened, there was no property damage or injury. X-Tronic USA Model 5040-XTS. 5040-XTS Hot Air Rework, Soldering Iron Station & Preheating Station. Imported from China by X-TRONIC USA https://xtronicusa.com X-Tronic International, Inc. 2159 Magnum Circle Lincoln, NE 68522 Email: Info@XTronicUSA.com Phone: (402) 742-2586 Toll Free: (844) 861-4762 Purchased from Amazon March 2017. This is a hobbyist-priced device that looks like a professional tool to work on circuit boards. It includes a infra-red heating plate to warm circuit boards, a hot air gun to melt solder (soldier), and a soldering iron. Manufacturer states that the hot air gun and the soldering iron are thermally protected (which I observed to be true on previous uses of the hot air gun). Thermally protected means that when the heat gun is set down in the holster, the internal fan continues to run until the heating element is cool, at which time the fan shuts down and goes into standby. When the heat bun is picked up again, the fan and heating element turn on and the unit is ready for use. On the day of the mishap, I plugged the 5040-XTS into the 120 volt 60 hz 15 amp three-wire (grounded) USA wall outlet, and turned on the main power switch at the rear of the unit. About 10 seconds later, the hot air gun burst into flames. The plastic handle of the hot air gun was burning with open flame. From the time I plugged the unit into the wall, until the fire began, the hot air gun was sitting in the manufacturer's holster. The holster was attached to the main unit with the provided screws. The hot air gun cannon plug collar was properly screwed to main unit. The control unit (main box) has user-adjustable heat control and user-adjustable fan control for the heat gun. The control circuits include feedback sensors, so the unit knows when the
I was using it to braze something copper and I thought it was turned off when I set it down it was apparently still burning and caught some carpet on fire and ran across my hand for a fright assuredly
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to soldering equipment, not specified on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are soldering equipment, not specified?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, soldering equipment, not specified have a danger score of 27/100 (low risk). An estimated 376 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from soldering equipment, not specified?
The most common injury is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 870 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from soldering equipment, not specified increasing or decreasing?
Down 24% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for soldering equipment, not specified injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,320 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by soldering equipment, not specified?
Of all ER visits involving soldering equipment, not specified, approximately 1.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with soldering equipment, not specified?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Home Communication & Entertainment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 27/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 15-24 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
