William Sommerwerck wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
William Sommerwerck wrote:

PS: I'm bothered that electronic products increasingly have RoHS labels
on the box, and statements that they use non-lead solder. I really
/don't/ believe that a lot of lead is leaching from waste sites into the
water supply, so we aren't likely to see much, if any, reduction in the
amount of lead (and lead compounds) in our water supply (is there any
hard science on this?), while the reliability of electronic products is
likely to decline.
I like to say that there is no such thing as a hazardous substance.
The hazard occurs from how the substance is used (or misused).

I believe -- in Europe at least -- it's more to do with H&S in the work
place rather than the environment.

I know of no cases of lead poisoning from the use of lead-based solder. I
touch solder directly when I work with it, and am not worried about lead
getting into my system.

I have no argument with people worrying about the huge amounts of electronic
equipment being dumped into landfills. The issue is whether potentially
hazardous substances in that equipment actually get into the air or water.

Certainly in the UK, landfills should be surrounded by impermeable clay. The
likelihood of lead getting through that is miniscule ( as is the amount of lead
tipped ).

Graham