I recently attended and spoke at the IPC's conference in Boston titles "It's Not Easy Being Green." There was tons of useful information and the attendence was great (200+). One thing that I felt would be useful to share was feedback relative to what two major OEMs are planning for their halogen reduction plans in an effort to become more "green."
Lenovo: Phase out BFR's and PVC on select models starting in 2009. They are also restricting red phosphorous flame retardants.
Apple: Restricting all Br and Cl for all new products beginning in 2009.
This shows that the industry is still divided on how to deal with halogens. The Lenovo approach is to focus on the materials of greatest concern. This is less restrictive, but is more difficult to test for individual BFR's. Apple decided to eliminate all Br and Cl. This means a more difficult process of eliminating materials, but a simpler test and verification process.
The drama continues…