Howard
I realize that there is a general perception that Sn and Cu are relatively
benign, compared to Pb.

The PCB industry has been fighting Cu effluents for decades.  They
contributed to destruction of aquatic life in San Francisco Bay, etc.
Beyond an essential threshold in humans, Cu is toxic to that species also.
(The Printed Circuit Industry has won the battle against Cu by reclaiming and
recycling.)
Sn in quantity is not benign,  but its organic compounds make the toxic list.
When I can finally start on the paper that I'm commissioned to write, I'll
compile all my references gathered from searches on the web, etc..

By contrast, Pb, though toxic in the human body, just doesn't get there via
landfills (unlike Cu and Sn and their compounds).  The classic case is Aspen
CO, site of old lead mines.  The soil was found to be contaminated in 1983.
The EPA  wanted to make the town a superfund site.  The townspeople forced
the EPA  to test air and water also the plasma and urine of inhabitants;
lead traces were insignificantly low in air, water, and people.  Try to sell
products with a lead-free green leaf in Aspen; I suspect they are hysteria
proof.

Brian Ellis makes a great point about secondary effects of greatly increased
tin mining required for the alternative alloys-- the devastation of tropical
forests in Malaysia.  So far, the tin proponents have been silent about that.


I have documentation to support all of the above and I will cite it all.

Harvey Miller

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leadfee Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d
To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in
the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Leadfree
To temporarily stop delivery of Leadree for vacation breaks send: SET Leadfree NOMAIL
Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail Archives
Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional
information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------