Originally Posted by
kss
This is all just hobby/play money essentially, so I am not willing to take ANY amount of risk in my scrapping endeavors.... Cuts, scrapes, bruises Im fine with and get a lot of with scrapping but I dont want to mess with lead, chemicals, or anything that could have any long term health risks. Not worth it even if it was worth $100. Thats why I quit doing microwaves, dont want the risk of the beryllium stuff. I still grab them, but sell as working (after cleaning), or cut the cord and fill it with crap and shred pile it. I do always wear mechanics/demolition gloves of coarse, but still.... gotta be careful out there, thats why I make post like this before f-ing up and messing with something dangerous.... like that one guy on here who posted after tearing down a bunch of microwaves, and people told him to be careful of the pinks things... and he said he broke them all.... I dont want that to be me lol
I think the main thing is to understand the risks that come with the job. It's like that with most any job really.
Let's say you were a welder. You would know to watch out for burns, welding fumes, electrical shock, and the bright light from an electrical arc. It's just common sense. A lot of the guys i've talked with also understand that the job will shorten their life because the hazards can't be completely eliminated. It's one of the reasons why the job pays so well.
I've talked with guys that work in oil drilling and refining and it's the same there too. They understand that there's a price to pay and make the tradeoff because the money is so good. They sometimes do it so that they can give their family a good life.
It's not that much different with
ewaste but the job hazards are a bit more complicated. The risks aren't well understood by most of the guys working in the trade and the pay generally isn't very good. You are probably going to be okay if you leave the boards whole. It's a completely different situation once you break a board. The nasties go airbourne as a fine dust that you inhale. They get all over your clothes and contaminate your work area. Some of the stuff can be absorbed through your skin.
The main thing is to educate yourself as much as you can. That way you can make an informed decision about doing this kind of work.
Have you ever noticed the RoHS stamp on a circuit board ? That mark means that it's a little bit safer to work with these boards.
No mark means that it could be anything or everything poisonous. Some of that old stuff is particularly nasty.
Here's a link to the RoHS standard. It explains what it's about and some of the things you have to watch out for when you're processing circuit boards & wire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restri...nces_Directive
Be safe out there everybody !
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