Quote Originally Posted by thearabianmage
Maybe pure lead solder is prohibited, but I've got a spool of 60/40 that I got in '08. . . so if Health & Safety had removed lead or lead-based solder from the manufacture of amps, then it's a bit silly because consumers can still purchase lead-based solder from local hardware shops - surely that's not only counter-productive but also more harmful for a consumer to solder with lead-based solder rather than own and use an electrical appliance with lead-based solder?
The problem isn't the solder, the problem is that the vast majority of consumer grade electronics equipment is made to be disposable. Having lead solder in this gear is a bad idea as the lead will leach into the ground water after said gear has broken and dumped into the landfill. It is actually cheaper to throw stuff away than to have it fixed.

It wasn't so much of a problem when electronics components were made to last. I used to own Eico and Dynaco gear from the 60s that was older than I am. With minimal maintenance and tube changes, that gear will last another 40+years.