[jacquesm]

You are very seriously underestimating the effect of lead in the environment. If this is the sort of thing that gets people upset at the EU bureaucrats then I'm all for it. ROHS free products have longevity on par with what was delivered before, yes, there have been some minor issues but in spite of the 'sky is falling' initial response that simply didn't happen.

[CamperBob2]

Lead sucks, don't get me wrong. But it still has valid industrial uses. I just Googled for the stats, and we apparently still sell about 100 million car batteries a year in North America alone. Which seems crazy high, but at least they almost all get recycled since the market demand still exists.

We should be doing that for electronics, too. Right now "recycling" electronics means sending it to China where some kid takes it apart with a blowtorch, so yeah, I'm sure they appreciate RoHS. That doesn't make it a net win for the electronics industry or for humanity in general.

Admittedly, you're right about reliability increasing over time, and I'll further admit that I expected a different outcome entirely. By making manufacturing more difficult and expensive, RoHS forced everyone to pay strict attention to their processes, and that tends to result in better products. The Amphenol thing is a glaring exception.

[agumonkey]

Some patents seem to indicate that some companies have developed solder solvents. I don't know how prevalent it is but it exists.