Hi Richard,

As a circuit designer, I'm all for getting rid of HASL as a board finish.
There are several alternatives that can serve various requirements and they
are superior to HASL in most respects.  The real problem is requiring
lead-free solder, which requires higher processing temperatures and leads to
massive expense to redesign and requalify component packages for the new
process.  From what I have read, I don't know that the reliability
characteristics of joints made with the new alloys are established as
acceptable.

But the most cogent objection to the WEEE draft directive is that, to my
knowledge, no one has ever shown that PCB assemblies in a landfill can
result in increased lead in ground water.  While arguments can be made for
this on theoretical grounds, many people have suggested mitigating factors.
In the absence of actual experiments, we don't even know that there is an
environmental problem to fix.  I fully support the reasoning of Harvey
Miller and others who call for sound science on this issue.  The entire life
cycle of the lead solder process compared to the alternatives must be
addressed from an environmental perspective as well.  The new process
shouldn't be worse than the existing one.

Regards,

Seth Goodman
Goodman Associates
Verona, WI

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