Holly,
I am not aware of any specific documented standards that require that solder
be lead-based, but I will give what I hope will be a start to a long list of
reasons/questions why we shouldn't jump into lead free solders right away.
I am not saying we won't, it is a question of when and will it be for
particular things or do we go whole hog?  Certainly what I am putting in
print is not all that original.  A lot of the thoughts below have been given
in various articles in industry periodicals.  I encourage others to jump
right in, especially you met guys out there!

1) Some of the best alternative solders would be based on elements that are
not found in large enough quantities in nature to support the whole industry
if it changed over.
2) The higher temperatures required to make and use most of the alternative
lead-free solders result in the greater expenditure of energy by society.
Does the decreased potential exposure from lead offset the consumption of
more non-renewable resources and the potential increase in global warming
that might result?
3) Is enough reliability data in that you would feel comfortable flying
across large expanses of water in a plane controlled by electronics held
together with lead free solders?
4) Many components are rated by the manufacturers for upper temperature
limits around the peak processing temperatures needed for the lead free
solders.
5) I have seen no documented rework procedures for lead free solders.
6) Conductive epoxies, etc. may have left their infancy, but they are still
in their adolescent stage
7) Upper end telecommunications equipment gets recycled quite bit down the
food chain before it is junked. Even then it is depopulated, shredded and
then burned for the fuel content in the resins and the tin, lead, copper,
and gold are recovered.  So where is the land fill there?  Couldn't we
expand this program to more of the industry and not landfill any electronics
material?
8) The use of trichloroacetic acid as the modeling acid for potential
leaching of lead from electronics in land fill sites is a ridiculous choice
as a model leaching agent.

And let the games begin...

regards,
Bev Christian
Nortel

NOTE: these comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my
employer.
> ----------
> From:         Holly Evans[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Wednesday, August 26, 1998 11:46 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      [TN] GEN: european lead ban
>
> Hi Technetters:
>
> I attended a meeting yesterday to discuss a proposed European Commission
> proposal that would ban the use of lead in many electronic/electrical
> products sold in European countries by Jan. 1, 2004.
>
> The IPC is working with a number of other trade associations to defeat
> this
> proposal and I am requesting your help.
>
> Are there existing standards that require the use of tin-lead solder in
> electronic products (e.g., military specifications, UL requirements)?  If
> there are, we will use this information to raise "trade barrier"
> opposition
> to the proposal.
>
> Please respond directly to [log in to unmask]
>
> Thank you in advance for your assistance.
>
>
> Holly Evans
> Director of Environmental and Safety Programs
> IPC
> 1400 Eye St., N.W., Suite 540
> Washington, D.C. 20005-2208
> phone: 202-638-6219
> fax: 202-638-0145
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
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