For those interested in knowing more about lead and the health risks associated with it, the following is material I recently came upon. The more I research the subject, the more it seems there was a lack of diligence on the part of the EU parliament in its certainly well-meaning but ultimately careless decision to ban lead from electronic solders. By doing so, (based on recent and continuing discussions in these forums), it appears that they are poised to cause a risk, to the European and World consumer population, much more uncertain than the risk of continued use of traditional electronic solders. While this is a personal opinion, each of us needs to reach our own conclusions based on the data we find and believe and the advice of the many technical experts who kindly grace these forums. Kind regards to all, Joe Reference: K. Sexton, L. Needham, J. L. Pirkle "Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals" American Scientist, Jan-Feb 2004 pp 38-45 The following table was extracted from a graph in the article. There may be small errors in interpreting the exact values thus approximations are provided. It shows the dramatic reduction in lead in blood with the removal of lead from gasoline in the US. The authors state that, at present, blood lead levels are less than 2µg/dL in the US. It is worth noting that lead in gasoline has not been completely eliminated in the US but is still allowed for aviation gasoline, farm and marine equipment (ironically for safety reasons) and racing fuel for cars (for financial reasons ;-). Lead in Gasoline (thousand of tons) Mean blood levels of Pb (µg/dL ) 1976 ~101 ~16 1977 ~ 88 ~14 1978 ~ 87 ~13.5 1979 ~ 60 ~12 1980 ~ 42 ~9.5 (The following data point is not from the original graph but was constructed from data from the article and the reference cited below.) 2003 ~ 7* < 2 * this is an estimate extracted from - Decision Document on Lead under the Process for Identifying Candidate Substances for Regional Action under the Sound Management of Chemicals Initiative- PUBLIC CONSULTATION DRAFT Prepared by the Substance Selection Task Force for the North American Sound Management of Chemicals Working Group of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation June 2003 Blood levels of Pb (µg/dL) defined as toxic over time 1965 60 1970 40 1975 30 1980 30 1985 25 1990 25 1995 10 Following quotes from the article "Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals" ================================================================ "... the CDC began measuring blood lead levels in the US population, ironically enough, after the Food and Drug Administration voiced concerns about possible exposures from eating food stored in soldered cans, which turned out to be a very minor risk compared with leaded gasoline." ================================================================ "It is important to remember that detecting a chemical in a persons' blood or urine does not by itself mean that the exposure causes disease." ================================================================ "The latest CDC report, in addition to listing current biomarker levels in the population, also highlights some interesting exposure trends gleaned from earlier NHANES findings. For example, from 1991-1994, 4.4% of children between ages 1 to 5 had blood lead greater than or equal to 10µg/dL, the Federal action level. By the second collection period 1999-2000, only 2.2% of this age group exceed this threshold. This decrease suggests that efforts to reduce lead exposure for children had been successful. It also serves as a reminder that some children living in homes with lead-based paint or lead contaminated dust remain at unacceptably high risk" From Lead in the Inner Cities by Howard Mielke "Lead in paint and gasoline together accounts for most of the lead now in the human environment. In terms of raw tonnage, the amount of lead in gasoline over only the 57 years of its use from 1929 to 1986 roughly equals all of the lead in paints in 94 years of lead-paint production, from 1884 to 1978. The peak use of lead-based paint came during the 1920s when the U.S. economy was largely agrarian and rural. Most lead paints still exist as a thin mass on the walls and structures of older buildings. Deteriorated or sanded and scraped paint contributes to lead dust accumulation in the soil." --------------------------------------------------- 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 847-509-9700 ext.5315 -----------------------------------------------------