Steve.
Calm down and get of your high horse, it wasn't me who commissioned the studies that gave birth to the WEEE & RoHS I'm on your side! And what you say is true. But believe it or not the battery industry is next in line to fall under the EU's wrath of Producer Responsibility Policies, by way of the EU Batteries Directive.
To explain the EU brought in the WEEE & RoHS directives in an effort to cut the fastest growing category of waste, and take the pressure of the ever diminishing number of landfill sites able to take hazardous wastes such as electronics.
So I hear you ask, a million questions, many of which no one currently knows, what I do know is summarised very nicely at the EU webpage's which I'll let you read at your leisure.... http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/waste/batteries/index.htm
Basically on 24 November 2004 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Battery Directive, which will require the collection and recycling of all batteries placed on the EU market. It aims to prevent spent batteries ending up in incinerators or landfills and to recover the various metals used in batteries.
So ok your right, batteries are a current problem, but policy restrictions to control treatment are coming, and coming soon.
Yes it would be nice if the lead free alternatives where inert and had no detrimental effects on the environment, but this isn't going to happen.
As you rightly pointed out, is often ironic that evidence arising from reports and studies like Edwin's suggests that the lead-free alternative materials are more toxic that lead, so you may retort and with it being 17:50 GMT, and well past by 'home-time' I shall finish as I did in a previous contribution to the forum.... one thing at a time!
Your thoughts please.
Chris
Christopher Hughes
Environmental Scientist
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Gregory [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 07 December 2004 17:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] Lead-free, and not lead-free...
Hi Chris!
I have a question; Why isn't the battery industry pursued with the same vigor as the electronics industry is, to ban their use of lead? After all, their total use of lead dwarfs the electronics industry by many orders of magnitude...and don't say because batteries are always recycled. We all know that isn't true.
Ryan Grant said it best when he said that he has his solder paste vendor color his Lead-free tubes green because it makes you sick that lead-free is touted as environmentally
friendly...I couldn't agree more.
ANYBODY, I mean ANYBODY that believes the environment is going to better off once the electronics industry bans the use of lead...well, all I can say is; I have some ocean-front property in Kansas I'd like to sell you...
-Steve Gregory-
>OK so you guys are going to have major issues if and when you change over to lead free operations. Which we can sympathize with, but the longer you leave it the more hurdles you will encounter.
>
>I have been tracking the development of market and legislative drivers surrounding the electronics industry for the past three years, so I know a fair bit about the ways out of compliance with lead-free etc.
>
>I'll let you all in on a big secret, unless your products are exempt there are not ways out!
>
>The bottom line is that legislative drivers such as the WEEE & RoHS pose the biggest ever threat to the electronics industry because their no escape, and the domino effect has already started (Japanese corporate polices, California & Maine Consumer products targeted etc).
>
>And YES it's only going to get worse.
>
>FACT: As we move towards key dates the value of leaded materials used in electronic & electrical equipment will increase, and will much harder to obtain.
>
>FACT: If your refuse to go 'lead-free' (RoHS compliant) for products put on the EU market after July 2006, your products could be banned from sale across the EU.
>
>Start taking the drive to reduce toxic material inclusion in the electronics industry seriously, and make sure the resources are in place to ensure you remain competitive.
>
>This is not simply an issue of greening the electronics supply chain, it is a major business threat to everybody in the supply chain to the final products put on sale, both business to householder, and business to business.
>
>FALSE: Only consumer products will be affected by the legislative driver to switch over to 'lead-free'.
>
>I welcome all thoughts and additional suggestions.
>
>Chris
>
>Christopher Hughes
>Environmental Scientist
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ingemar Hernefjord (KC/EMW) [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: 07 December 2004 07:57
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [TN] Lead-free, and not lead-free...
>
>Mike,
>
>blessed be the innocent, that have not yet seen the dark side..
>
>Inge
>
>PS. we are still unaware, have seen no problems until this day...will the heaven suddenly
>fall upon our heads (Majestix of Gallia)
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Mike Fenner
>Sent: den 6 december 2004 14:57
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [TN] Lead-free, and not lead-free...
>
>
>You will need excellent controls, preferably even a separate building ☺. Customer feedback is that trying to run two lines adjacently, usually in the interim to full change over can be a hair loosing experience, with frequent cross over, and do not wish it on others. A single bar of solder can tip your wave pot over the 0.1% Pb level, putting leaded paste on the unleaded line can be undetectable [unless you have a handy spectrometer], putting leaded components on the unleaded line may damage them thermally and so on.
>
>Regards
>
>Mike Fenner
>Indium Corporation
>
>T: + 44 1908 580 400
>M: + 44 7810 526 317
>F: + 44 1908 580 411
>E: [log in to unmask]
>W: www.indium.com
>Pb-free: www.Pb-Free.com
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve Gregory
>Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 1:21 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [TN] Lead-free, and not lead-free...
>
>
>Hi All!
>
>I've got a problem that I've been worrying about all weekend. It may come to
>pass that we will be building both lead-free, and standard 63/37
>stuff...whoa is me.
>
>I'm interested in stories from those that have done that...what the hell did
>you do?
>
>Is this something that can be done? It probably can, but me, being the
>pessimistic sort, thinks that you're just asking for trouble when you try to mix
>the two...
>
>-Steve Gregory
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