What Bob wrote in his response was pertinent and useful, and his point on pad
finishes is well made: lead free finishes are available now and proven. This
means they are not a major issue when looking at lead free. There are even
lead free solders with a proven history.
I suggest the real problem is: which of all the lead free solders is the
industry going to use? Keeping in mind how many different  types have been
promoted, patented, or otherwise have vested interests riding on them, that
some are mutually incompatible with either each other or some application
processes, or can't be afforded or that there simply isn't enough basic
material in the planet's crust to supply them. Jumble all that together, stir
well and the technical issues are almost secondary.

For an illustration of how difficult this sort of thing can be, recall the
introduction of almost any new digital technology to see how competing
interests can slow things down and screw things up.

Is leadfree solder really necessary?  Clearly its a good thing not to increase
the possibility  of toxic metals entering our environment, but on the list of
things to do I would not put it at the top. [On lead issues I would put old
houses higher: simply sand papering the paint in a pre 1960's house will
release enough lead particles to seriously effect children living there]. But
what we want or believe is not the point. If the politicos make a law you have
to stay legal - and they have battened on to lead in electronics.
Why the electronics industry? The rule of laywers and governments: only go
after someone with money.

ps: forgot to mention component lead finishes

pps: I seem to recall reading somwhere  that lead probably doesn't leach out
of landfilled assemblies, something to do with salts in the soil /acid rain
binding it up, (only soft/pure water dissolves lead), so the whole thing is
doubly a non issue (per David Whalley's posting old assemblies won't be
landfilled but recycled) but we don't really want to know how futile this all
is do we?

----------------
In a message dated 30/01/99  03:30:55PM, Bob Lazzara writes:

> .........I'll need a new hard drive to handle the mail from this letter
Steve, but I
>  say to you the Industry is crying for FLAT and CHEAP and they're going to
>  get it, and it just happens that the answers are all lead-
free.........................
>
>  Ain't it Great!
>
>  Bob Lazzara
>  Circuit Connect Tech Support
>  Georgia Service Bureau

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