Hazardous chemicals in microwaves or CRT monitors?

Nah man the Microwave emits radiation when ON but the radiation it emits is not from a block of uranium or something it's from an AC signal in the Magnetron. No worries there.
As far as the CRT I didnt know but I found this http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...6091652AAvfJWC
Cadmium dust could be pretty bad I guess, I have kicked up a storm of white dust accidentally before when I broke a CRT open. It seems a respirator will do the trick though.

I've been going to a new scrap yard a heck of a lot closer than my previous one, and they say they don't accept microwaves. (Even though they still take them from my trailer). So my guess is like you said there is something they worry about, but obviously nothing too terrible.

Microwaves can be potentially very hazardous, especially if you break the magnetron. I have put a post from wikipedia and if you scroll down to the hazards section you can read exactly what the dangers are. This is the reason most scrap yards will not take microwaves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven

Sorry for the late comment:

Originally Posted by Scrap man

So I scored a CRT monitor and a microwave from trash night yesterday, and I start taking apart the monitor (as my basement is slowly flooding). My father comes down and tells me that the monitor tube has some kind of poison gas in it and that the microwave has some radioactive thing in it. Are either of these true?

Both statements are 100% false. The CRT is a vacuum tube, so there is actually no gas inside of it whatsoever.

The microwave has nothing radioactive inside of it at all, but rather generates microwaves from a very large voltage (which is why it needs such a large transformer).

BOTH OF THEM HAVE CAPACITORS! The capacitors will hold charge for between 2days-2weeks depending on type, and, if anything, that makes them dangerous.

As for the beryllium oxide in the magnetron, it isn't harmful unless its airborne or ingested (just like lead or mercury). That little pink thing is what they consider dangerous if you breath it in. So — don't smash it with a hammer and breath it in. Other then that they are pretty safe.

There is no doubt in my mind that just using an angle-grinder or sawzall is just as, if not more dangerous then scrapping a microwave or a CRT; but you won't hear anybody here saying not to use them!

Good Luck scrapping!

I finished both things and I came up with a few more questions:

1. What do I do with the capacitor from the microwave? I know it still might have a charge and I read the recent thread about getting rid of the charge, but how do I actually do it? Do I just touch both contacts with some kind of grounded metal object? Can I just let it sit for a few weeks?

2. After the charge is gone, what do I pull out of the capacitor? Do I put it in with motors and breakage, mixed metal, or is it loaded with copper? How do I get the goodies out?

3. Is there anything inside the CRT tube that's worth smashing it apart to get? I already got the yoke off so the pressure is gone. It seems pretty heavy even for leaded glass, so I was just curious.

You guys have been a great help so far and I really appreciate it. Thanks!

Read some of my posts for dismantling the microwave. All the info's there.
Theres about 1Kg of Copper in it & some heavy chunks of iron core that add up quicklyish.
The only tough bit is the magnatron (its mostly Copper, 80 grams copper actually) & picking the welded on stainless steel ends off it.
The stainless is dangerously sharp when cut & theres that poisonous pink ceramic end thing on it, as above.

Televisions can be so scrap metalscrap metalscrap metalscrap metal dangerous, well the tube is, & the capacitor.

The first time I saw a screen explode was scrap metalscrap metalscrap metalscrap metal close to being the last thing I saw..........
16 foot dia circle of 1 to 3 inch glass shards with a gap in the frag zone the shape of my upper torso.

I tapped the side of it with a hammer, just a little tap too. BOOM!

What I do is put something soft like a few layers of carpet & turn the TV screen down onto the carpet.
Actually no, the first thing I do is put some heavy clothing on & the safety specs with side protection & flipdown plastic visor & earmuffs.
Done that? Good, now, as before..

Face down, remove screws & slip back off, remember the ariel & switch & RCA socket wires must be cut.
Short all of the capactors, ie, find them, use a insulated screwdriver or such insulated tool & connect the two spots of wire/solder under the capactor together.
You will have 1 of 3 things happen, 1 nothing, 2 small spark, 3 'CracK BANG' as it shorts out. Its pleasing when that happens.

Now gently pull the circut board off the tube end, make sure nothing (like wires or plastic clips) gets caught up & make sure its level (inline) with the tube as its pulled off. Don't pull it sideways at all.

Of everything I have done with scrapmetal. THIS IS THE MOST DANGEROUS THING I have ever done.!
I put a 2 inch gash in my arm, down to the meat, & tied a rag around it & kept on going.

But when Im doing the CRT tube, I'm scrap metalscrap metalscrap metalscrap metalting myself.

Theres a small plastic cap, slip that off, put a rag over the end of the tube & using plyers, grab the little melted tube in the centre of the circle of pins & twist it over.
There should be small 'crack' & you will hear the gas get sucked into the screen, it may take a while, anything from 10 seconds to close to a minute. You will know when its done.
Don't let anything get close to it when its sucking in air, I'd say it could suck all of the blood out of you if you even gave it a chance.

'In the wild' when I find a TV in a remote place & I just want to strip it there & then, then sort it out at home.
I tip it on its face, on something soft, like grass, NOT gravel or stones.
Then I kick sideways at the approate part of the rear of the screen untill I hear the 'crack', then the gas gets sucked in.
Then I just keep kicking it in the right places till I can pick all of the parts out.

I did otice yesterday when I scrapped a found TV that the wire thats stuck to the screen with the suction cup looking thing, gave off a spark at some point when I ripped it all off.
I think there could be a 'charge' still in the screen somehow. Its rings a bell somehow.

I have noticed that when I cut car windscreens with my loppers that the glass sparks when I cut it. Pretty.
I think its like those mentos when you chew them, they make sparks.
Same as when you pull two strips of sticky tape apart, sparks. Or smack a peizo crystal. Spark.

The TV tube cannot be recycled, the fronts lead glass & over a inch thick.
Theres a metal band around it & two thin sheets of iron insde of thee screen too.

Noooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!! It's Ronald Mr Dew.......we aren't supposed to answer !!! lol

Given the toxicity of the magnetron, what is the proper way to dispose of it?

In the first part of the Wiki article, it talks about super heating liquids. I have seen the opposite happen, and it was amazing. It was minus 30 degrees out, and I was digging through my trunk. I had a bunch of water bottles in there from earlier that year, and need to move them aside. All of them were swollen and frozen solid except one. It was still in a liquid state. Weird right? I tossed it to the side, and it instantly froze. That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Bread roll BOOMbastics!

Needed:
3 slices of white bread
one cup drano
aluminum foil

Take the aluminum foil and tear into small manageable pieces. Set aside. Tear the 3 slices of white bread in half. Set a few pieces of the aluminum foil on each half of the sliced bread. Now here comes the fun part, I like to get my kids involved here and see who can do it the fastest. Fold those slices in half then roll them in a ball. You should end up with 6 bread balls.(This serves one, multiply this recipe by however many you wish to serve) Eat the bread balls a chew thoroughly. Drink the cup of drano. There you have it! A quick and easy recipe that is a blast! You don't need to kill yourself to make great food!

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

The TV tube cannot be recycled, the fronts lead glass & over a inch thick.
Theres a metal band around it & two thin sheets of iron insde of thee screen too.

There's a landfill one town over that accepts tv tubes at no charge, but I only find myself there when I'm passing through with a truck already full of stone and concrete scrap (free dump over 1 ton).

We have a small scrap yard that actually buys old tv's and monitors but it's only two or three days out of the year and when the trailer is full they shut it down until next time.

For the amount of time you are investing in scrapping a tv versus the money return and disposal hassles you're better off holding your breath at the curb with a hammer, smashing out what you can really fast cut the cord and move on. Around here city pickup takes care of the rest.

And that's the kinda thing that give scrappers a bad name.

Microwaves can be potentially very hazardous, especially if you break the magnetron. I have put a post from wikipedia and if you scroll down to the hazards section you can read exactly what the dangers are. This is the reason most scrap yards will not take microwaves.

My yard takes microwaves. I mean I want safety for everyone and all, but I find these to be a popular item. I'll pick up 2-3 in a month on my bicycle scrap runs. I gut the microwave of its parts, and use the microwave as a storage box for small metal parts like screws and such. It's a nice, mostly, waterproof container.