Researchers Getting the Lead Out of Electronics

alphadogg writes "Researchers at the University of Maryland say they have discovered a material to replace lead, a potential environmental hazard, in electronics products. The material, bismuth samarium ferrite (BSFO), was found by researchers in the university's A. James Clark School of Engineering. It can be used in products such as biomedical imaging devices and inkjet printers, and if implemented commercially could keep lead out of landfills and the ecosystem, they say. While manufacturers have developed replacements for lead in many products, until now no commercial replacement existed for lead zirconate titanate (PZT) — the material of choice for transducers, actuators, sensors and microelectromechanical systems used in common electronic devices, the university says."

Comments

Toxicity?

[saleenS281]

So... have they actually tested this on humans to verify it's non-toxic? That's great that we're not using lead, but if this is just as bad for humans when it hits our water supply, what exactly is the benefit? Swapping one (cheap) poison for another (expensive) one?

Re:Toxicity?

[sillybilly]

As long as the product performs somewhere near as well as the old stuff, and it's patentable, then there is money to be made. We just have to find sufficient fault with the old stuff, and bad mouth it enough to start making money. Wikipedia says that as with the other lanthanides, samarium compounds are of low to moderate toxicity, although their toxicity has not been investigated in detail. An MSDS sheet where you can put toxicity N/A, no data available sounds better than one where you know it's toxic, because at least with an unknown there is a chance that it's not toxic. There is money to be made with the patent, and money saved by not having regulations to deal with. Regulations regulate know toxic materials, not unknowns.

Re:Toxicity?

[hoytak]

Inferring a compound's behavior from the individual elements is error-prone. Carbon is great and nitrogen is great, but CN, well, not so much. On the other hand, this is more true with organic compounds (containing carbon).

Re:Toxicity?

[Tubal-Cain]

Bismuth is a widely accepted nontoxic substitute for lead...

So? Clorine and Sodium are two very toxic supstances, but NaCl isn't. See also: Thinkgeek
Properties of compounds often bear very little relation to their constituent parts.

Lead solder replacement

[Krishnoid]

I haven't picked up a soldering iron in a while, but I've heard that non-lead solder has a lot more structural problems than lead solder. Will this stuff have related problems?

Re:Lead solder replacement

[Anonymous Coward]

You've got to love an environmental measure that ensures a significantly higher failure rate in electronic devices, meaning more electronics to trash -- electronics containing materials much more hazardous than lead. Sheer genius.

People in first world countries have so little to worry about in terms of health issues that they strain to find bogeymen, and lead has become one of the things filling that role.

I had one couple fly up from Texas just to see my house in Seattle, make an offer on it, and later rescind the offer because the house was old enough that it existed when lead paint was sometimes used. There was no specific reason to believe the paint was lead-based, and much of the house was wall-papered. The mom was terrified of the possibility of lead and her email withdrawing the offer was filled with heartbreak because they really adored the place; they ended up getting a recent townhome in a much less desirable location. One twist: they knew from the beginning that the attic had loose-fill vermiculite that had a decent chance of containing asbestos, and they had no problems with that.

More reliable than tin?

[kimvette]

While it's good that they're getting lead out of toys, etc. what about computers, televisions, and other devices/appliances which are generally not regarded as disposable? Is this new solder going to be more reliable than tin, which is notorious for whisker and dendrite formation, which wreaks havoc with reliability?

Given that you're on /. I'd assume that you know what tin whiskers and dendrites are, but in case you're not here is a refresher:

http://www.siliconfareast.com/whiskers.htm

You can see where this is a problem. And, although it's been discovered that matte tin surfaces and good quality control can reduce the likelihood of whisker formation, what about repairs and installation/reinstallation of components on a mainboard? Replacing integral components (capacitors, sockets, etc.) require high heat, which is sufficient to change the crystalline structure and introduce new stress points for whiskers to "grow," and flexing of the main board from installation of peripherals, connecting devices to sockets, and simple heat/cold cycling will be enough to introduce stress points even in properly-formed, properly-plated components, creating points where whisker formation is more likely.

Yes, protect the environment, but since more and more electronics are being recycled rather than being dumped in landfills, isn't lead in electronics a non-issue anyhow? I mean, in most localities you're not supposed to chuck monitors and devices containing printed circuit boards in the trash.

Re:Reality check...

[Anonymous Coward]

You clearly don't know anything about toddlers. "mining ore" is a euphamism for "rocks". Toddlers eat rocks, and damn near everything else that's less then 4 feet above the surface. The only things they don't eat are those which resemble vegetables.

Re:What about radiation shielding?

[BluBrick]

Actually, extra mass is a problem even once it is in space. Manoeuvring all that extra mass requires greater amounts of energy, which is often somewhat in short supply.

Why?

[Detritus]

I've never seen a justification for the huge amount of money that's been spent on removing lead from electronics. Yes, the stuff can be toxic if ingested in sufficient quantities. No, it isn't going to leap out of your old TV set and perform unnatural acts on your dog. Tin-lead solder has been used for many decades. It's cheap and it works. I can understand why lead was removed from paint and gasoline. It was creating real problems when used in those products. Why, other than catering to the irrational and unfounded fears of the public, are we removing it from electronics?

Re:What about radiation shielding?

[Quantos]

Especially since changing the momentum of that mass requires fuel, lots of it - and that adds to the mass. At some point it becomes a vicious cycle, at least until a far more efficient propulsion system is put into place.

Wait a Minute

[Nom du Keyboard]

...could keep lead out of landfills and the ecosystem.

Wait moment. Isn't lead already in the ecosystem? Don't we dig it out of the ground because it's already there in the ground?