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pB-Free: The Craze Has Begun
Kirt's Cogitations #65

RF Cafe University"Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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pB-Free: The Craze Has Begun

Motivated by reports of lead leaching into ground water from landfills, some manufacturers of electronic equipment have begun using lead-free solder processes. Japan is at the forefront with a year 2003 target for 100% lead-free soldering. Europe is targeting 2006, and N. America has a voluntary compliance date of 2004. Studies in N. America show no increase in ground water lead content after 50 years, but Japan claims increases. The most common lead-free solder in use today is Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu, which melts at 219°C. 63Sn-37Pb melts at 183°C. Paradoxically, net environmental impact could be worse for lead-free due to the increased fuel-fired energy required to run oven soldering equipment! Some analysts predict the industry will abandon lead-free solder by 2008, due to minimal environmental impact and much more difficult processes and costs. Storage batteries use 79.0% of all lead mined, while electronics solder uses only 0.6%

Innovative Power Products (IPP) Baluns & Transformers