Looking for Safety Info

Other than the usual "wear eye protection and gloves" stuff I am looking for more in-depth safety info for specific items. For instance, I understand you can get shocked when taking apart an old TV set. Also, I understand that you can get significant doses of radiation when taking apart a microwave oven.

What about other items such as ceiling fans, electrical panels (once they have been removed from their original power source), motors, transformers, circuit breakers, etc.? Are there other safety guidelines I need to be aware of? Are there any devices besides TV's and microwaves that I need to be especially careful going through?

I've looked at quite a few Youtube videos and the info there is sketchy at best. For instance, there is a video where a guy is taking apart electrical ballasts and doesn't even mention the dangerous banned PCB's, but comments about a sticky substance that he finds while taking them apart. Yikes!



I figure there might already be something good on this site. I've got a bunch of stuff to take apart, but don't want to cut my life short. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

UPS's or battery backup power boards can bite you. I've received a shock from them 3 or 4 times.

Originally Posted by recyclersteve

Also, I understand that you can get significant doses of radiation when taking apart a microwave oven.

What kind of radiation is that?
Is there a radiation source in a microwave?

I was wondering how you would get "significant doses of radiation" from a microwave and would it be Alfa, Beta, Gamma or Neutron?

Most of the radiation in a microwave is from the microwaves when in operation, but that is a radio wave based radiation..different than alpha, beta, gamma. There is a tiny bit of a radioactive element in the magnetron...starts with a T I believe...it is an alpha emitter, so your skin would block it. Worse than that is the pink stuff...bad for you if broken.

Originally Posted by ozarksewaste

There is a tiny bit of a radioactive element in the magnetron...starts with a T I believe...it is an alpha emitter, so your skin would block it.

True that dead skin will block/shield Alpha radiation. Alpha radiation only bad for you if ingested

Microwaves are a form of "electromagnetic" radiation; that is, they are waves of electrical and magnetic energy moving together through space. Electromagnetic radiation spans a broad spectrum from very long radio waves to very short gamma rays. The human eye can only detect a small portion of this spectrum called visible light. A radio detects a different portion of the spectrum, and an X-ray machine uses yet another portion.

Visible light, microwaves, and radio frequency (RF) radiation are forms of non-ionizing radiation. Non-ionizing radiation does not have enough energy to knock electrons out of atoms. X-rays are a form of ionizing radiation. Exposure to ionizing radiation can alter atoms and molecules and cause damage to cells in organic matter.

Full article available >> https://www.fda.gov/Radiation-Emitti...ave_Radiation_

My scrap yard pays better if you cut the pig tails off of power supplies. I use my angle grinder for quick removal but you should always wear a mask. There is fine powdery crud that gets spit out. You probably don't want that in your lungs. I am also allergic to dust mites so I wear a mask if scrapping anything that has lots of old dust when I have one around.

The real hazard is the beryllium oxide that is contained in the pink ceramic in magnetrons in microwaves. Pull the wires and the transformer and rest is shred

I've got some electrical panels and ceiling fans that I've found sitting by the curb. Are there and dangers to be aware of when taking either of them apart?

Originally Posted by hobo finds

Some states Calif*Uckia and others ban microwaves from the scrap yard.

Yep, the yard where I sell my shred doesn't take microwaves anymore.

Originally Posted by ozarksewaste

Most of the radiation in a microwave is from the microwaves when in operation, but that is a radio wave based radiation..different than alpha, beta, gamma. There is a tiny bit of a radioactive element in the magnetron...starts with a T I believe...it is an alpha emitter, so your skin would block it. Worse than that is the pink stuff...bad for you if broken.

Its Thorium, its very slightly radioactive and it helps the effiency of the Magnetron to 'throw' out its microwaves.
Old gas lamp mantles contained it as well and it helped the light output.
Same with Thorated Tungsten TIG welding electrodes.

Capacitors everywhere will store electricity for a lot longer than you think they will.
Microwave capacitors have a 'bleed resistor' across their terminals (little black box connected by wires to each terminal) so they will slowly use up any power stored in the capacitor. Which does not mean there's no chance of electric shock, just a lesser chance.

Audio amplifiers have several bigger capacitors that will give you a good shock. And I have been 'bitten' by them before.

I also got 'bitten' by the electric charge that builds up in a CRT TV screen when I ' cut the red wire' attached to the rubber suctioncup looking thing that's attached to the tube, behind the screen, on its 'funnel'.

While the shocks not as bad as 240 V AC, it will make you jump, and that jump is where the danger is, like if you jerked your arm away, but across some broken glass or sharp metal, or loose your balance & trip over etc etc.

One thing that always concerns me is what living thing might be inside a computer or TV you are scrapping. Things like spiders, roaches and mice. I've seen it all.
I cringe when I see pictures or videos of people scrapping computers and TV's inside their house.
Don't s**t where you eat.

Except you will want to take out the magnetron too. There is a bit of scrappable stuff on it, as long as you don't crush the pink stuff or eat the thorium. If you have the right type to get them out easily, those magnets are great to keep on hand.

Microwaves are usually worth much more as parts than scrap. Transformers, magnetrons, capacitors, glass plates, circuit boards, etc. Sometimes they are too gross to mess with, and knowing if it worked beforehand or not is very helpful, but always, always save your microwave parts.

working at a few different junk yards and visiting a few dozen of them Ive noticed that the scrap metal world safety usually takes a back seat. Theres a select few that are overly safe but the majority of people I see both working and scrapping at the scrap yards barely even wear gloves. On the other hand I always wear at least safety glasses, gloves, and occasionally masks and ear muffs. As far as random things to watch out for that are kinda like hidden dangers, pay attention to the environment around you. theres nothing worse than smacking the crap out of cast aluminum grill top and hitting some stranger in the eye with a piece that shattered. Also pay attention to things before you torch them. It only takes a second for that small controlled fire to become some raging inferno burning everything in its path all because you hit a fuel line. Critters also like to hide in the most random places. And you asked about transformers, If your taking them apart completely I started wearing a mask when I do those. After about 500lbs. of them without a mask it started to feel like Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked me in the chest.

oh and I just thought of it, if your doing old, like old old electrical panels with them big tubular looking fuses, even though theres brass in and around them your best off just leaving them as is and not breaking them as they are filled with some kind of powdery toxin. even the metal room guy at work was complaining of them. and he cuts apart just about anything with out a mask or goggles with out a problem (yet)

Originally Posted by ScrapmanIndustries

oh and I just thought of it, if your doing old, like old old electrical panels with them big tubular looking fuses, even though theres brass in and around them your best off just leaving them as is and not breaking them as they are filled with some kind of powdery toxin. even the metal room guy at work was complaining of them. and he cuts apart just about anything with out a mask or goggles with out a problem (yet)

How old are you talking about?