DIYbanter - View Single Post - Lead free solder

James Beck

In article ,
says...

"James Beck" wrote in message
th.net...
In article m,
says...
Allodoxaphobia wrote:
Arfa Daily wrote:

At 30th tonnes, the potential environmental impact of the lead in
solder, even if you *did* dump it all in the ground, is minuscule.

And, where do these pin-heads think the lead came from, in the first
place?

It came from deep within the ground, in the form of lead ore,
which I think is much less of a health hazard than metallic lead
decomposing in a landfill and seeping into the water supply.
Mettalic lead has been shown to have very little impact on the
environment. Especially after it has built up an oxide layer.

In Europe, there are places where the Romans smelted lead 2000
years ago, and 8" or so below the topsoil, the dirt is still so
toxic that health officials (in Britain at least) don't allow
people to dig there, even wearing protective gear.
Ah, but we aren't talking about running a smelting operation, are we?

BTW, I'm not a pinhead, just someone who cares about my health,
that of others and a quality environment for us to all live in.
I don't know.
Comparing burying metallic lead VS a smelting operation, that borders on
pinheadiness.

I tried lead-free solder, and gave up on it, at least for prototyping.
I was feeling a little bad about returning to traditional solder,
until the OP posted the article. Thanks - I feel vindicated. I hope
that someday there is a better alternative to lead-based solder,
but evidently it hasn't happened yet.

Jay Ts

Until they come up with better alternatives, I'll stick with good old
lead/tin. When I left my last job, I had a full physical including a
lead test, and even though I had been "exposed" to lead solder almost
daily for 13 years, my blood lead levels were almost not measurable and
that puts me below the national average for people that don't work with
solder at all. Why would that be if lead/tin solder were so dangerous?

Jim

Unfortunately, if you are professionally involved in the repair of
electronic equipment in Europe, continuing to use leaded solder, unless the
equipment was placed on the market prior to June 2006 or is manufactured in
leaded solder now due to an exemption, is no longer a legal option. I am
required under threat of law, to use only solder and components, which
preserve the RoHS approval of the equipment in question. I don't suppose
realistically, that any 'solder police' are going to come knocking on my
door to enforce this, but with some of the jobsworths that there are in
local government departments now, it's just not worth the risk of a whopping
fine and even the potential for prison, for disobeying the directive.

Arfa

I understand.
I'm sure we will have something similar here soon too, and I will be
forced to comply. Resistance is futile.