Cortland, One of the sentences in the article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10859866 caught my attention: "People are concerned about playing God and that kind of thing... rather than producing products which are dangerous to eat," he said.
There is a sub-class of people who delight in playing God... they are called "legislators". I have been seriously studying lead-free electronics, the European Union's (EU's) RoHS and WEEE Directives, and their ilk, since late 2004. To date I have collected over 16,900 documents on these subjects, including 260 books and 222 Ph. D. and Masters theses-- see: http://www.dbicorporation.com/rohsbib.htm Based on my research, personal experiences, and talking with other engineers-- and specifically because the RoHS Directive bans the use of lead in electronics-- I strongly recommend: 1. Don't buy-- or fly in-- anything manufactured in Europe. 2. Don't buy new electronic/electrical stuff, if you can find an older item (manufactured before 2006) that will do the job. 3. If you buy a new, expensive electronic/electrical item, get the longest warranty that you can for it. 4. If you buy a new, inexpensive electronic/electrical item, buy at least three, to give yourself a fighting chance that one of them will still work when you need it. 5. If you are replacing an older, working unit, HANG ON TO THE OLD ONE! John Barnes KS4GL, PE, NCE, NCT, ESDC Eng, ESDC Tech, PSE, SM IEEE dBi Corporation (author of Robust Electronic Design Reference Book, Volumes I and II) - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
