Joe, I don't believe the old style pink poly bags, which contained migratory amine agents, are made anymore. Years past, manufacturers changed methods so that the anti-static agent was theoretically bound inside the plastic matrix itself, and so no longer migratory. However, I believe that these kind of bags still rely on the mechanism of attracting moisture to the surface of the bag to create a sweat layer that provides ESD protection. Not desirable because it varies depending on humidity. The metalized (smokey gray) bags have an evaporated metal layer that does not vary with humidity. Much preferred. Doug Pauls "Kane, Joseph E" <joseph.kane@BAES To: [log in to unmask] YSTEMS.COM> cc: Sent by: TechNet Subject: [TN] Pink Poly Contamination <[log in to unmask]> 06/02/2004 11:03 AM Please respond to "TechNet E-Mail Forum."; Please respond to "Kane, Joseph E" One of our customers objects to having pink poly in contact with any of their product, but I've checked the TechNet archives, and it seems like pink poly contamination is a problem that the industry has moved past. With the older formulations, amines could migrate to the surface and deposit on the product. Seems like most of the issues were with solderability of bare boards after long term storage, or exposure to temp or humidity extremes. I seem to remember a GIDEP alert on this, don't remember when, but it appears that this hasn't been an issue since the mid-90's. Pink poly today is made with amides that are bound into the plastic matrix. Of course, we use static shielding for anything ESD sensitive, but we do use pink poly in a number of ways. At receiving, we see non-sensitive parts like connectors come in every day in pink poly bags, as do some bare boards. DIP's and other parts come in anti-static tubes that are then put inside static shielding bags. Pink poly foam is used inside our conductive board boxes, both for cushioning, and to provide an insulating and non-static-generating layer. And I understand that pink poly is laminated inside static shielding bags for the same reason. We've never seen an issue with contamination, corrosion, or outgassing, and it will be time consuming and expensive to eliminate pink poly if we don't have to. And if it's inside static shielding bags, is it even possible to get rid of it entirely? Joe Kane BAE SYSTEMS Controls Johnson City, NY --------------------------------------------------- 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 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- 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 -----------------------------------------------------