Health risks

Im assuming theres a few people who have been at this whole scraping thing for a while, and while working with metals is no huge concern of mine (Im a welder and construction worker when Im not trying to make beer money by dismantling houshold goods) this whole "e-scrap" buisness scares the hell out of me. Mainly because its new to me, and new things scare me. So really my question is, is this the current centuries mad hatter issue, is everyone who rips apart mother boards and heat sinks going to die from mercury poisoning or go crazy? I think Ive built an immunity to lead poisoning so thats no huge concern of mine but is there any thing I really should be looking out for?


I work with enough, "OH dont be a *****!" types so if thats what your going to say please save the bandwith. But if youve been at this a few years or have some earned knowledge on this subject (and from what Ive read so far there are some extremely intelligent and knowledgable people on this forum.) please share.

Thanks for you time.

i...ii..I've b..bb....bbeeenn..uhmmm..doiinnggg t..tthisss.. uhmmmm...e...ee...eeewaste....tttthingggg... ff...ffoorrrrr, uhmmm.... yyyears.. nn..nnowww
and it hasn't bothered me a bit ; )
I've done a couple of years here and there where I wore gloves, I wore em in the gold mine, in the oil field, a good bit working on a ranch, wore em shipfitting, and sometimes wear them when I'm cutting firewood, but mostly I've done carpentry, where I seldom if ever wore them. Sticking your hand in a tool belt filled with cold nails, or sharp screws after I started doing mostly commercial, I guess it's just what you get used to.
I started buying surplus lots of computers about ten years ago, after a shoulder injury left me sidelined for a while, tearing them down, putting them back together, fixing some, and scrapping others. I don't recall ever wearing gloves much, even times when I was all out scrapping them, and I don't think it ever really worried me, even when reaching inside while they were turned on. Not like it would with a TV or something. In fact, that's probably the worst I've had, was breaking down the first couple of TVs, especially after reading Hoss' thread about getting zapped from one, and speaking of Hoss, I wonder how he's faring

As long as your not breaking up the boards you will be fine. You don't hear of computer repair people getting really sick. I'd be more worried about breathing toxic gas from welding and strain on the eyes.

I wonder why you can drink water from copper pipes and it doesn't make you sick?

Originally Posted by Bear

wore em shipfitting,

When I read this I read it as shoplifting. Stopped me dead in my tracks and had to read it again

Originally Posted by CarolinaEwaste

When I read this I read it as shoplifting. Stopped me dead in my tracks and had to read it again

haha! uhmm, nope ; )

Originally Posted by copycat

As long as your not breaking up the boards you will be fine. You don't hear of computer repair people getting really sick. I'd be more worried about breathing toxic gas from welding and strain on the eyes.

yeah, that would probably be concern one is the dust. By far the majority of my breaking down has been done outside, with lots of fresh air

Originally Posted by sapienza521

Im assuming theres a few people who have been at this whole scraping thing for a while, and while working with metals is no huge concern of mine (Im a welder and construction worker when Im not trying to make beer money by dismantling houshold goods) this whole "e-scrap" buisness scares the hell out of me. Mainly because its new to me, and new things scare me. So really my question is, is this the current centuries mad hatter issue, is everyone who rips apart mother boards and heat sinks going to die from mercury poisoning or go crazy? I think Ive built an immunity to lead poisoning so thats no huge concern of mine but is there any thing I really should be looking out for?

I've had my hands inside computers for over 20 years now. Near as I can tell, no health problems come from assembling or taking these machines apart, aside from the occasional minor scrape or cut. I think you must be kidding about lead poisoning, there's no such thing as immunity. But otherwise, feel free to go ahead and strip down as many computers as you can get your hands on. Worst thing that will happen to you is you inhale too much dust and start sneezing.

--Geoff

wear gloves.

Just my few experiences
- When a CRT breaks, the phosphor coating on the inside of the tube is not toxic but can become airborne. Its never good to breath airborne particulates, so work outside if a tube breaks.
- If you use an angle grinder to remove IC chips from a circuit board there are either fumes or very small particulates produced that cause a noticeable decrease in lung function (I may be more prone to this because of asthma). Only do this when outdoors and with a cross-current fan.
- If you break circuit boards (to get easier access to IC chips), wear gloves. The solder points on old boards are sometimes pointed and can drive through a fingernail if broken incorrectly. Otherwise, I don't wear gloves when handling boards.
- You will get cuts, some pretty severe. You'll learn to leverage your tools with time so that they become less frequent. Masking tape makes for a great emergency bandage.
- Broken glass will eventually cut through leather gloves with time. I have one pair of gloves to work with broken glass with duct tape (I like gorilla tape better) wrapped around the fingers and palms for greater protection.

What type of gloves do you guys use when working w/ boards? ive gone through 3 different types being shredded. I keep seeing the leather ones that i would think would stand up a little better but they are always 10x to big.

breaking the board poses airborne contamination in the form of fiberglass.cutting the board on the other hand is dangerous because of the type of metal in some of the connectors. Beryllium Copper is an alloy used to make some pins and legs for IC packages. that to me would seem to be the most hazardous metal there. mercury was phased out a long time ago (dont swallow any batteries) and lead was phased out in the early 80s. there is still a certain amount of lead but with good hygiene, it shouldnt be too much of a concern. heating the boards produces organic vapors that are very unhealthy (such as phenol's). any time you heat a board to the point of the solder melting, it is releasing phenol's.