On Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:42:02 -0000, "Arfa Daily"
wrote:

No, not really. Standard leaded solder has disappeared from all commercially
available electronic equipment, with the exception of classes of items such
as avionics, life support, and military (draw your own conclusions on this)
which have been granted dispensations to continue to manufacture in leaded
technology. This has been the case since June 2006 when the RoHS directive
came into full operation. However, there is no requirement for equipment
manufactured and brought to market before that date, and perfectly legally
constructed using non RoHS compliant materials, including solder, to be
repaired using anything other than originally specified non-compliant parts
and solder. Indeed, it is considered to be not particularly metallurgically
good to mix the two types of technology. There is also no requirement for
items constructed for your personal use, and not to be offered for resale,
to be constructed with lead-free parts and solder. For these reasons,
traditional 60/40 solder is still readily available from all the usual parts
supply houses, and is expected to continue to be for the foreseeable future.

A bit of trivia on lead. See PDF or XLS for USA lead production at:
http://minerals.usgs.gov/ds/2005/140/

Despite the RoHS ban, new production (mining or primary production) in
the USA has dropped drastically over the years, but recycling
(secondary production) has made up the difference. If you look at the
lead-use numbers above, there's a decrease in the use of lead in
solder, which is more than compensated for by the increased use of
lead in other areas. At best, overall consumption is fairly flat,
with a slight drop due to the current recession.

More on lead:
http://www.basemetals.com/html/pbinfo.htm


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558