[paul cotter (OP)]

About five years after purchase of my now antique acer aspire e 15 it suddenly died. I whipped it apart in the remote hope of finding some mechanical problem. On close inspection with a powerful lens I found definite whiskering. I brushed the board down and to my surprise it worked perfectly on reassembly. Now two of the usb sockets have ceased to function and the third one is erratic and I suspect whiskering is to blame. If this problem can render my unimportant computer non-functional, what about computers doing vital functions? All this because of the eu's witch  hunt against metallic lead. If this subject has already been raised, I apologise.

[alancalverd]

Yet another nail in the coffin of the EU's scientific credibility! Lead in water, lead in petrol, bad. Lead in solder - essential!

The phase change of tin at low temperatures is reputed to be a contributory cause of Napoleon's failure to reach Moscow- his officers' uniforms fell off as their pewter buttons turned to dust.

But political correctness prevents the EU from discussing French military history, and even required them to change their international access code. Everyone else used "00xy" but for many years our nearest neighbors prefaced phone calls to the UK with "1944" until some humorless scumbag recognised the subtle expression of gratitude.

[paul cotter (OP)]

Yes and no, alancalverd. Volatile organo-lead compounds and soluble lead salts are definitely hazardous and should be restricted, in my humble opinion. What's the problem with a minor reduction in octane rating- chuck some toluene in the mix and it will largely rectify the loss. Unfortunately the mention of "heavy metals" sends the ill informed running for the hills with lead being considerably less toxic than mercury and thallium. I have even seen aluminium referred to as a "heavy metal"- what's next, lithium?. Metallic lead, although relatively electropositive, is quite inert in most situations. I share your contempt for the the eu commission and their "flat earth" dictates( dictums? ). You lot on the other side of  the pond should be free of that bs now that you have left, in theory?

[Bored chemist]

Just to clarify the situation.
If the UK government had wanted to continue with the use of lead in solder they could have vetoed the EU legislation on control of lead.
It chose not to - for whatever reasons.*
Now, if the UK want to suggest the return to the use of lead in solder, they won't be able to sell their products in Europe.
So, since they can't afford to lose that market, they no longer have the option of using lead based solder.

This change- from being able to decide on the use of lead to not being able to decide on the use of lead was called "taking back control" by liars.

*
The reasons may have included wanting access to the US market- some states have effectively adopted the EU's "RoHS" rules.

Incidentally re "Has any solution for tin whiskering been found?"
Yes.
Varnish.
Obviously that costs a little bit more, so manufacturers might not want to use it.
But, much more importantly, tin whiskers are a neat way of getting "built in obsolescence".
The idea of varnishing PCBs  doesn't seem to have been widely adopted.
The manufacturers blame "the bogeymen" i.e the EU.

[alancalverd]

What's the problem with a minor reduction in octane rating- chuck some toluene in the mix and it will largely rectify the loss.

Legacy aero engines (i.e. practically every light aircraft) don't like low-octane fuel. Spectators love Spitfires, businessmen love Cessnas, and the Powers that Be are very conservative about modifications*. Nevertheless we all agree that lead in fuel is a Bad Thing so most AVGAS nowadays is 100LL, and it will eventually be replaced by kinder spirits. 

*It's taken about 30 years to develop an aero diesel that is sufficiently reliable to be certified, despite huge market pressure because they run on much cheaper JETA1 with no nasties. 

[evan_au]

(With my work hat on): All our electronic products sold in Australia are labelled ROHS.

I haven't checked if they use varnish (thermal dissipation is a major issue for electronics, as high temperatures also shortens the lifetime of electronics).

[paul cotter (OP)]

Several years ago I placed an order for some igbts and solder with "radionics", our local franchisee for RS. The solder order was for 250gr of tin solder and 250gr of regular 60/40 ( real solder ). A day or two later a young man in a private car arrived and handed a padded envelope which contained only the 60/40 solder. Next day a regular courier delivered the rest of the order- what a waste! The worst aspect of this absolutely true tale is that the dude in the private car was not wearing a haz-mat suit( to be honest, neither was I ). The use of lacquered pcbs is quite common in boards designed for rough service. Bored chemist: I totally forgot about the rohs stuff, which I tend to ignore.

[Bored chemist]

RS seemed to deliver with impossible speed. They would actually send stuff by motorbike courier. (We speculated that they may also have a time machine)
For all I know, they still do. I'm no longer in that field.
It could be that the solder was delivered by a guy in a car because it was the only way they could be sure to meet their promised delivery time.