I disagree with Mr. Brooks, not only because lead was recognized as a health hazard and banned from fuels in 1970, but also because the manufacturing changes he refers to will include having to use parts with bigger pitch to avoid those dreaded tin whiskers. Perhaps Mr. Brooks is parroting Steven Jobs <http://www.svtc.org/cleancc/pubs/Response_to_Jobs.pdf> charges of financial ruin from impmenenting RoHS. Dell Computers and HP already endorse the principle of the "Phase out the use of potentially hazardous substances consistent with the recent European ROHS directive and other worldwide standards as they become law" The problem is not just confined to RoHS implementation or lead, either. Hazardous materials <http://www.wastenotwashington.org/prc--toxics.htm> are a way of life in the electronics industry, and the IPC Designers Council Forum is as good a forum as any to discuss this. In fact, the IPC DC may want to take a proactive role in introducing less hazardous <http://www.svtc.org/cleancc/index.html> materials to designers. After all, findings <http://www.svtc.org/cleancc/pubs/2002report.htm#findings>show that the US is already behind in developing solutions to counteract the dirty side of (our) computer industry. From the article High Tech Goes Green: <http://www.svtc.org/media/articles/2003/yes_mag.pdf> "It's long been known, but little discussed in polite high tech circles, that information-age technology is not the clean industry it claims to be. Personal computers, for example, are astonishingly resource-intensive to produce. Manufacturing a single PC can generate 139 pounds of waste and involves a witch's brew of chemicals linked to high rates of cancer and birth defects among workers and communities. The solution to the high-tech toxics trap is coming not from the US, where companies sell the most computers, but from Europe. The European Union has begun requiring manufacturers to take responsibility..." and "US manufacturers may find it makes less and less sense for them to produce a dirtier version of their products for the US market." Even the state of California has legislation <http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_20&sess=CUR&house=B&author=sher> to deal with e-waste and phase-out of hazardous materials, in the absence of meaninful direction from Washington DC. Does the IPC-DC have a position on this legislation? If the IPC should adopt Mr. Brooks' position on hazardous wastes, I for one, would be happy to show Designers other organizations where they can find, and possibly even lobby for, ecologically responsible materials. Regards- Michael Howell IPC/DC member #1317807 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free 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 DesignerCouncil. To temporarily stop/(restart) delivery of DesignerCouncil send: SET DesignerCouncil NOMAIL/(MAIL) Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > E-mail 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------