In June, however, the EC delayed its ban until January 1, 2008.
Japanese manufacturers are unlikely to face imminent bans on lead from their own government.
Making those products lead-free to begin with might minimize companies' disposal woes, but the MITI draft doesn't specifically mention lead. US companies making electronics products for sale in the US also appear to be safe from imminent government bans on lead, although they could face new reporting requirements detailing the lead compounds they use. 3 Test Issues Test issues related to lead-free solders will likely be concentrated in the inspection area. Such changes will require retraining of manual inspectors and reprogramming of automated optical-inspection systems. He says that with minor changes to the joint profiles, the current algorithms used to analyze the joints are still applicable.