In a message dated 3/15/99 8:37:29 AM Pacific Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: << Hi Todd&Russ&Steve&Bev Just a point when you've raised the 6 month screening (quite right) : Few HR dept.s have the foresight of screening NEWCOMERS ; and occasionally get company into serious poo when a fellow tramping for decades over silicon valley with all of the chimneys for pigeon eradicating programs ; (I don't believe my eyes here as I read all of this ;you guys have it way too easy over there ; we have to have by law [not every buddy 's "aware" of it , regional to councils as well] three stage filter [pre, HEPA , and carbon to humanize bad breath of wave maintenance guys ; able to discharge, optionally ; air back to room] ; finally gets overdosed ! And there goes this >six sigma< fellow in crime "personally" preferring holes {which I'd understood} ; but in roof !!! ; no wonder I get all stuffy trotting seminars round LA !!! You guys work like middle aged England's industrial revolution : Stuff the pigeons (literally) ; here comes the progress . I understand theyr's etching on your prized 3pack duco and shitting down Acropolis is not quite that nice ; still ; I'm flabbergasted . paul>> Hi ya Paul! Flabbergasted are ya? Ya' shouldn't be...things aren't quite so bad as the picture you're painting of us...while there's room for improvement to be sure (don't get me started on MTBE's, California's way of dealing with the pollution of auto exhaust) we're not quite back in the middle ages. A lot of the things I was saying was meant quite "tongue in cheek" and not be taken literally. Here in the San Fransisco Bay Area we have a quite strict organanization called the Bay Area Air Quality Management District under which all of us printed circuit businesses answer to, and those that have dealt with BAAQMD know what I'm talking about when I say strict.... The following is from Regulation 11 (Hazardous Pollutants) Rule 15 (Airborn Toxic Control Measure For Emissions of Toxic Metals From Non- Ferrous Metal Melting) The first part (a) goes through all the definitions, then it gets into the regulation: (b) Requirements: No person shall operate a non-ferrous metal melting furnace unless the facility is in compliance with all the requirements specified in subsections B1 through B3. The section that really applies to guys like us is: (B3) Fugitive Emission Control (a) No activity associated with metal melting at a facilty including furnace operation, casting, emission control system operation, and the storage, handling, transfer of any materials (except new sand) shall discharge into the air any air contaminate, other than uncombined water vapor, for a period aggregating more than three minutes in any hour which is: (i) Half as dark or darker in shade as that designated as number 1 on the Ringlemann Chart, as published by the United States Bureau of Mines, or (ii) Of such opacity as to obscure an observer's view to a degree equal to or greater than smoke as described in subsection B3, A(i) or 10% opacity. (b) Dust-forming material including, but not limited to, dross, ash, or feed material shall be stored in an enclosed storage area or stored in a manner which meets the requirements of subsection B3 (a). (c) Material collected by a particulate matter control system shall be discharged into closed containers or an enclosed system that is completely sealed to prevent any dust from getting out. (d) Surfaces that are subjected to vehicular or foot traffic shall be vacuumed, wet mpped, or otherwise maintained in accordance with a District- approved maintenance plan. The plan shall specify, at a minimum: the areas to be cleaned, the method to be used, the required frequency of the cleaning activities, and a method of documenting the completion of the required activities. The plan shall be designed and carried out in a way which will meet the requirements of B3 (a) (C) Exemptions 1) Small Quantity Exemptions. Facilities are exempt from subsections B1, B2, and B3 if they meet either of the following conditions: (a) Melt a total of no more than one ton per year of all metals, or (b) Melt no more than the listed quantities of any one of the specific metals listed in table 1. TABLE 1 METAL EXEMPTION LIMIT (Tons per year) Pure Lead 400 Hard Lead 200 Aluminum Scrap 125 Aluminum Ingot containing more 125 than .004% cadmium or .002% arsenic Solder 100 Zinc Scrap 30 Copper or Copper based alloys 30 containing more than .004% cadmium 0r .002% arsenic Type Metal (lead for linotype machines) 25 So as you can see, by following the regulations there's a lot of us small guys exempt. Sorry things are so tough for you down under. I'm no environmental engineer, but do you really think all the regulations that you have to deal with are really necessary? I'm not going to try and debate that lead isn't a toxic compound, and if it were a perfect world there shouldn't be anything harmful to us humans anywhere, but sometimes regulations can be "overkill", just as I'm sure regulations can be ineffective sometimes. I'm just asking the questions of what is really prudent and neccesary? As far as you always being stuffed up down in LA, I'm pretty sure you can blame that on the weather patterns, the geography of the LA Basin, and cars. Not my reflow and wave exhaust...I wouldn't do that to ya' pardner! -Steve Gregory- ################################################################ TechNet E-Mail Forum provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ################################################################ To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TechNet <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TechNet ################################################################ Please visit IPC's web site (http://www.ipc.org) "On-Line Services" section for additional information. For technical support contact Hugo Scaramuzza at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.312 ################################################################