Chuck, I thought I'd add a little detail to the origins of the Prop 65 300 ppm number for lead in cables. This number came from rudimentary exposure estimates trying to link the Prop 65 Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) for reproductive toxicity for lead (which is 0.5 microgram/day) to a consumer's lead exposure resulting from use of a lead-containing PVC cable on an electronic device. Basically, Mateel & associates ran course lab wipers over PVC cables containing up to 2% lead, measured how many micrograms of Pb came off on the wiper, and then took a swag at estimating how much of that lead might be ingested by a typical consumer on a typical day. Adding in safety factors, they came up with a 'safe' concentration limit of 300 ppm for lead in the PVC cables. At this level, it was determined that the ingested exposure of a typical consumer would not exceed the Prop 65 MADL of 0.5 microgram/day for Pb. This work was done in early 2001, around the time when some companies settled independently with Mateel. When the multi-company consortiums settled later on, they used the same 300 ppm value. Having done some similar assessments, I agree with your point that 300 ppm is a conservative number. It's interesting to note that what drove this case is that the Prop 65 MADL number for lead is so low-- half of one millionth of a gram per day (probably less than what's in a typical calcium supplement). So when a commonly used chemical has a low prop 65 MADL, there could be Prop 65 exposure issues, although there are published Prop 65 MADL values for only 11 substances today. Prop 65 No Significant Risk Levels (NSRLs), of which there are 100's, are calculated using a different exposure model-- so substances with low NSRL values are not as likely to be an issue. Regards, Joe Johnson Environmental Regulatory Manager Microsoft -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Leadfee Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Leadfree To temporarily stop/(start) delivery of Leadree for vacation breaks send: SET Leadfree NOMAIL/(MAIL) Search previous postings 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------