Handling electronics, toxicity worries

[DenverAux]

Yesterday I removed the PCBs, opened up and lightly scratched the top platter on a couple of hard drives I wanted to throw away. However, today I have some worries about toxic metals or alloys present in hard drives. I don't really know precisely what platters are made of, and the PCB probably had lead solders.

I worked on my kitchen table (which I later ate out of) and didn't take any special precautions when doing this. I just shook the table cloth off and washed my hands, not very carefully. I have a pretty harsh headache today, and I almost never have headaches normally. I feel like I am being overtly paranoid and since I have a history of hypochondria I have been reluctant to call a doctor.

What's the verdict?

 

[PottedMeat]

unless you sanded down the platters and components on the pcb then snorted the dust, it wasn't the electronics that caused your headache.

 

[bryanl]

I don't believe platters are toxic unless burned. They have a dry lubricant coating, but I can't find information about it.

I avoid fumes from soldering and any plastics melted by accident. I use a fume extractor, but a fan works, too. After soldering or handling soldered objects, I wash my hands thoroughly, including by brushing over and under fingernails, and use liquid soap mixed with powdered soap for abrasion. Dry with paper towels, never a cloth that will be reused. I don't suggest switching to lead-free solder for electronics since the higher melting points require more power, and with high power, soldering tips will overheat unless the equipment is temperature controlled.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Lead isn't an issue as long as you wash your hands before licking your fingers or eating. I can't speak to the platters but PCBs are quite harmless; many people handle them all day.

Also, most electronics are lead-free now anyway.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Highly likely you just have a cold. Unless fumes and colored smoke came of the material you where working on while you where heating burning it, there is nothing to worry about.

If you have this every time you handle electronic equipment like printed circuit boards, do an allergy test. Perhaps you are sensitive to some chemical. Best way is to find it out yourself by systematic eliminating possible suspects and see how you react on it. For example ,when i myself work with solderpaste, i am always careful to not get in on my skin. Since the chemicals in the solderpaste can be absorbed through the skin and i feel a little light headed after a while for an hour or 2. My colleague has the same, so it is not just me. Just be careful(even use gloves if necessary) and use good ventilation and there is nothing to worry about.

 

[Rubycon]

How old was the drive? Everything made after June 2006 should be ROHS compliant -

http://www.rohsguide.com/rohs-faq.htm

More than likely your headache was NOT caused from opening a HDD! I can think of 1000s of things that will give me a headache without even lifting a screwdriver.

 

[Modelworks]

If that were hazardous I would be dead considering the amount of circuit boards I have handled, soldered, drilled.

I love the smell of burning capacitors in the morning !

 

[bryanl]

I can't speak to the platters but PCBs are quite harmless; many people handle them all day.

PCBs = printed circuit boards; safe, except for lead in solder

PCBs = polychlorinated biphenels; very toxic liquid for cooling transformers, not used since the late 1970s.

 

[William Gaatjes]

If that were hazardous I would be dead considering the amount of circuit boards I have handled, soldered, drilled.

I love the smell of burning capacitors in the morning !

Yeaagh. Especially furry electrolytic capacitors.
I have noticed many times while repairing in the past that when the electrolytic fluid is spread on the pcb, even after cleaning the pcb, after a while the traces started to corrode again. I guess it was the result of not using proper cleaning materials and removing all the residue.

One of my colleagues is very good at producing your Elcau de cologne

 

[PsiStar]

I don't like dredging up old threads, but this one isn't all that old & I had nothing to contribute before.

This AM I was looking up the material properties of a particular solder alloy & came across this MSD. Typically what I need is never on the MSD & don't bother even glancing at it, but note on page 2, at the top of the page under Hazardous Information. Of course nothing is commented about how much/how long exposure ... just fyi.

 

[kornphlake]

How old was the drive? Everything made after June 2006 should be ROHS compliant -

Actually that's not quite true, only goods intended to be sold in Europe are ROHS compliant. While the vast majority of products are ROHS compliant so they may be sold in any continent, there are a few products that are only available in the North American market and are not explicitly ROHS compliant.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I don't like dredging up old threads, but this one isn't all that old & I had nothing to contribute before.

This AM I was looking up the material properties of a particular solder alloy & came across this MSD. Typically what I need is never on the MSD & don't bother even glancing at it, but note on page 2, at the top of the page under Hazardous Information. Of course nothing is commented about how much/how long exposure ... just fyi.

That is interesting. If this is the case, then why does lead need to be banned ?
From lead it is known that it is a slow killer, gradually causing psychotic behaviour and organ damage. But Tin seems to be a slow killer as well, although not so dramatic as lead. I guess as long as you cannot see changes in behaviour very quickly, the material is deemed save.



Lead has a negative name because the workers of a paint manufacturer jumped of the building while having lead poisoning. Because lead released by cars fueled with gasoline with lead additives poisoned the air in the cities and killed some animals in the zoo. After post mortem research they found out the animals had extremely high levels of lead in their organs.

It is mentioned that one of the reasons the roman empire fell was because the people got more sick. One of the causes was the that the watersupply was transported in lead pipes. Thus increasing the levels of lead poisoning of all people that where bathing and drinking the water.

Did you know that during the 1920 that people responsible for the introduction of the ICE driven car for everyone in the USA where fully aware of the dangers of lead poisoning? Charles F Kettering knew about the dangers but decided that lead was cheaper as an additive when compared to an expensive alcohol mixture which seem to be a lot less dangerous for the health.
For those interested.
http://www.runet.edu/~wkovarik/papers/kettering.html

http://www.runet.edu/~wkovarik/ethylwar/

About the romans :
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide03/part09.html

But to come back to tin poisoning :
http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/sn.htm

It seems tin has similar effects as lead.
And then to think so many people have been drinking from tin cups and have eaten from tin plates for an 1000 years...
http://www.bromwellhousewares.com/historically-correct-tin-cups.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin-glazed_pottery

 

[Modelworks]

It is mentioned that one of the reasons the roman empire fell was because the people got more sick. One of the causes was the that the watersupply was transported in lead pipes. Thus increasing the levels of lead poisoning of all people that where bathing and drinking the water.

Even worse was a drink they made using vinegar from spoiled wine that was stored and served in lead cups. They liked the sweet taste it had and it was common among the generals and soldiers because spoiled wine was easy to get. The sweet taste came from the lead dissolved in the vinegar .

Wonder if that is why all the Caesar's seemed insane ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead(II)_acetate

Like other lead(II) salts, lead acetate has a sweet taste, which has led to its use as a sugar substitute throughout history. The ancient Romans, who had few sweeteners besides honey, would boil must (grape juice) in lead pots to produce a reduced sugar syrup called defrutum, concentrated again into sapa. This syrup was used to sweeten wine, and to sweeten and preserve fruit. It is possible that lead acetate or other lead compounds leaching into the syrup might have caused lead poisoning in anyone consuming it.
Pope Clement II died in October 1047. A recent toxicologic examination of his remains confirmed centuries-old rumors that he had been poisoned with lead sugar. It is not clear if he was assassinated.
In 1787 painter Albert Christoph Dies swallowed, by accident, three-quarters of an ounce (21 g) of lead acetate. His recovery from this poison was slow and incomplete. He lived with illnesses until his death in 1822.
Although its use was already illegal at that time, composer Ludwig van Beethoven may potentially have died of lead poisoning caused by wines adulterated with lead acetate.

Another crazy use of metals is early food canning. They made the cans out of cadmium because it was easy to form and sealed the cans with lead solder. Yum !

 

[William Gaatjes]

Even worse was a drink they made using vinegar from spoiled wine that was stored and served in lead cups. They liked the sweet taste it had and it was common among the generals and soldiers because spoiled wine was easy to get. The sweet taste came from the lead dissolved in the vinegar .

Wonder if that is why all the Caesar's seemed insane ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead(II)_acetate



Another crazy use of metals is early food canning. They made the cans out of cadmium because it was easy to form and sealed the cans with lead solder. Yum !

That is amazing ...D:
It is very possible a very important argument the roman empire went down the drain. If you can not think, you can not act properly on incoming threats or just ordinary house keeping and labour.
Although it is not entirely analogous, it is one of the examples i think shows what happens when people are intoxicated all the time.

It is to bad that there are no family history records of what people used as material. I can not proof it, but i would not be surprised at all if some epi-genetic diseases will be found that originate from the use of heavy metals in the past by family members. I would even not be surprised if a few mental diseases originate from the uses of heavy metals in the past as these metals seem to affect the developing brain in young children as well.

I am wondering of a bit , but anyway i like to share :

http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/plus/sfg/resources/res_epigenetics.dtl#gen

For decades, our view of heredity has been written in the language of DNA -- and genetic mutations and recombinations have driven most descriptions of how phenotypic traits are handed down from one generation to another. Yet, as is amply demonstrated in Science's special issue of 10 August 2001, recent discoveries in the field of epigenetics -- the study of heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence -- have blurred that neat picture, and are changing the way researchers think about heredity. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and RNA interference, and their effects in gene activation and inactivation, are increasingly understood to be more than "bit players" in phenotype transmission and development. And, with the prospect of human cloning now being actively discussed in some quarters, understanding the twists and turns of epigenetic inheritance has become especially important.

I wonder what the epi-genetic effect of a life long consumption of alcohol will have on the children ?
Or a life long smoking ?