Mr. Hughes

Sounds like your horse is pretty high!

Jason Gregory
Manufacturing Engineer
Innova Electronics
(281)653-5593
(281)653-5594 fax
(281)310-7588 cell
[log in to unmask]


-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Hughes, Chris
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 11:50 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] Lead-free, and not lead-free...


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

---------------------------------------------------
Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e
To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in
the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet
To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to
[log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL)
To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to
[log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest
Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives
Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16
for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or
847-615-7100 ext.2815
-----------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------
Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e
To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in
the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet
To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL)
To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest
Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives
Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815
-----------------------------------------------------