Last week I went to the "PCB-West" conference in the silicon valley.
Sponsored by the "Printed Circuit design" magazine, They had a "Free"
day where one could attend the panels. Like many others I chose to
attend the RoHS panel.

Basically I sense a train wreak here. There is a lot of FUD happening.
The gist of the panel was when one engineer asked about enforcement. It
came down to "Have your lawyer call my lawyer." In other words they were
telling us engineers that we need to study law and keep a paper trail of
what we use in designs.

At the end of the panel I kept thinking. The difference between a police
state and a totalitarian state is that a totalitarian state does not
require any paperwork before they take you away. At least now there will
be a paper trail. So much for the paperless society. I think that went
the way of Johnson's "Great Society."

I guess this went the way of other promises of my childhood. "Better
living through chemistry," the SST and vacations on the moon.

The conference was aimed at larger corporations, The ones that can spend
5 figures on Printed Circuit design software. At the same time there are
a number of "small" board shops that are looking to the low end of the
scale, I was there to see if I could lower the cost of the PC board as
that is 50 percent of the cost of my MIDI file player.

If the RoHS (Reduction of hazardous Substance) laws are successful in
Europe, then California and the City of New York will implement similar
measures. This is not about lead. Cadmium, and some forms of Bromine and
Chrome are also illegal to sell into the EU after July 1st 2006.

What I sense it that a lot of the small time operators will go
underground. On the other hand this initiative is driven by the big
boys. The chip makers, who gain by having the consumer shoulder the
cost. If they do not need to purchase these substances and protect
themselves from damages, then they gain in the long run.

Still as one engineer in the panel discussion pointed out, 99% of lead
is used in storage batteries. The electronics lead only accounts for .01
percent of industrial lead use.

I am still waiting to see if these same European communities are willing
to sacrifice their cathedrals. Especially the windows, which are leaded
glass held together by lead, which needs to be replaces about every 150
or so years. Then there is the organ pipes (Mentioned) and the roofs of
these buildings.

We will also have to tear down the Forum in Rome, as the Romans used
lead expansion joints to hold things together. (In the 19th century some
of these were replaced with iron, which oxidized and split the stone due
to it's rigidity.)

By the way. Military and Medical are exempt from RoHS. And yes there is
an exception for bullets, as long as they are not hollow point.

I am going to send a separate posting from one of my microelectronics
forums.







Spencer_Lists wrote:

> Greetings Bob,
>
>
> As usual in our society, the media masks the real issue in trying to
> sell advertising. Lead is a poison and causes serious health problems.
> It is a good idea to not make your water pipes and food storage
> containers out of lead. It is also important to consider the effect of
> lead on young people and the effects of cumulative exposure of toxins
> of all types. It is not important to warn people that they must wash
> their hands after using their DVD player because it may contain lead.
> It is exactly this sort of practice that causes people to have no
> faith in information sources. Lead is bad, asbestos is bad, drugs are
> bad, unless they are sold by the same people who bought your "elected"
> officials.
>
>
> Monday, April 3, 2006, 12:02:01 PM, you wrote:
>
>>
>
>
>
> THANK you, Mr. Bullock, for talking SANELY about the lead
> non-issue! I worked for the telephone company for 30 years working
> with lead-acid batteries and diesel engines, in asbestos-insulated
> rooms. I do have several health problems, but NOT ONE of them is due
> to lead or asbestos!
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Bob
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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