health hazard?

[schuey]

Hi all I'm hoping you can help me out with some answers. I was looking at a failed circuit board and was inspired by the small resistors etc. to make some found jewery out of them. Then I started to think about what goes into the makeup of these components. Should some components be avoided because of what goes into there makeup? How are they indentified? What to watch out for? I would think the little resistors with the colored bands pretty harmless, but like I said I know little about electronics. thanks

 

[MikeMl]

Older components have leads plated with lead (Pb), or soldered with lead solder. Not a good idea to be sucking on jewelry made out of non-ROHS electronic components.

 

[schuey]

Yah I thought about the solder, thats probably more of a hazard to me as I remove parts from the board. I would use a silver solder to mount parts. Sucking on jewelery, hadn't thought of that, but you are right someone might do that unthinking, sorts like chewing on a pencil. non-ROHS electronic components

 

[MikeMl]

... non-ROHS electronic components

Google it.

 

[smanches]

ROHS - "You can suck on our stuff."

 

[schuey]

Restriction on Hazardous Substances often referred to as the lead-free directive. Came into force February 13 2003, implemented August 13 2004 Wilkepedia I love it Thanks guys

 

[Sceadwian]

Pure paranoia. At least coming from the perspective of a former plater. Would you believe that the ROHS standards require that each 'homogenous' portion of a component be ROHS compliant? This mean that while the TOTAL chromium content for a part has to be bellow a certain threshold that even a coating (such as zinc with a dichromate passivization) also has to be bellow that threshold even though the dichromate layer is only 1/100,000th of an inch of the surface of the entire mass of the part.

The chromium limits in bottled drinking water are higher when looking at the total mass of the samples. This kind of things is causing billions of dollars in harm to the industrial sector, and albeit only very slightly encouraging environmental consciousness.

Lead itself is NOT a hazard, it is only a hazard when it becomes ionic (IE disolved in a liquid) and ingested. As a bulk metal it's a bad thing because mild acids will dissolve it over time and introduce it into the ground water supply. As a necklace, you'd be safe wearing a pendant made out of solid lead if you so chose.

 

[Hayato]

The sweat salts / substances combined with the air and the body / sunlight temp. can cause the Lead to ionize (the lead oxide layer can become a salt). It is not safe to use anything that have lead.

Sometime ago, some cobblers were suffering of Saturnism/Plumbism because they used to hold nails (that were lead plated) with the mouth.


And, you are going to use silver solder, but, as far as I know, silver solder temperature will burn the components epoxy casing.

 

[Sceadwian]

Hayato, leaded solder poses almost no health risks to users of it under normal conditions. Typical leaded solders are 60/40, tin/lead so even getting to the lead in the first place is difficult, any minor oxide layer is going to provide at beast trace amounts of lead, you'd have to grind it up and eat it to really have a harmful effect. I'd be more worried about breathing the rosin vapors than the lead content of typical solder.

Your cobler refrence isn't really applicable, because if it's actually plated you're talking almost absolutely pure lead, and they had it in their mouths for extended periods of time. I don't think tin dissolves as well as lead does in mild acids so what would happen is you would end up depleting the lead from the surface and end up with a solid tin layer that would no longer disolve. Not sure exactly about the solubility of tin in mild acids though. And that's only if you were deliberately moutihng on the stuff. Common soldering methods don't even require the physical touchign of the solder, it either comes off a spool, out of a spiral in a wound tube or similar.

 

[Boncuk]

I guess the trouble about RoHS conformal electronic parts and related stuff is nothing but politically made hysteria.

Not too long ago water pipes in houses were made of pure lead. As far as I know nobody died of them.

Making PCBs I don't even bother wearing protective gloves (no good grip) using irontricloride or natriumpersulfate.

I do use silk gloves when mounting a transparency for exposure though not to leave unwanted "traces" on the film.

When my hands get an unusal colour (blueish-green) I use natriumhydroxide (normally used for photopositive developer) to wash my hands.

Politicians tend to make new laws regardless if they are useful or not. The main purpose seems to me to show and prove that they are doing something.

Boncuk

 

[Sceadwian]

In general I think the elimination of lead is a good thing for the environment in general. But for a hobbyist, it makes no difference. Even all of us added up together don't even make dent in the number a small mass producer outputs.

 

[Boncuk]

In general I think the elimination of lead is a good thing for the environment in general. But for a hobbyist, it makes no difference. Even all of us added up together don't even make dent in the number a small mass producer outputs.

I'm still waiting for the first RoHS conformal lead-acid-battery.

 

[tcmtech]

I have questioned much of the proposed limits of toxicity and other such measurements for far longer than I can remember.

If you search around there is always a naturally occurring source of something that will be far above what limits some politician or over zealous health agency proposes to be safe.

How many city and public water systems still use lead based piping that was installed decades ago yet does nothing about it let alone ever tells its own citizens about it in the first place?
And how many public water systems still have high levels of other heavy metals or potentially harmful yet naturally occurring chemicals in them that make it though the systems primary filtration and into the homes anyway?

Too many for the governing bodies to ever willingly admit too!

So how do you propose to eliminate a substance from the environment when it is in fact a naturally occurring part of the environment itself?

 

[Mr RB]

Just spray the finished jewellery with clear coat acrylic. Then it will have a thin plastic coating layer over any nasty lead. Hmm. But doesn't clear acrylic have cyanates?

I'm with Scaedwian on this, I bet most of those idiots that pass anti-lead laws drink and smoke and eat high cholesterol diets. But they are afraid of "toxins" in an appliance on the other side of the room.

 

[tcmtech]

We have all got someone like that in our lives!

I have a friend who grows all organic garden produce because he doesn't like the chemicals typical farming uses. Yet he takes a heaping Dixie cup of pills every day for his health related issues!

So how many non natural chemicals are in about 20 different medicines anyway?

 

[Sceadwian]

Oh it just suddenly popped into my head, but I think due to ROHS type stuff that crematoriums in some countries are required to dispose of the ashes as hazardous waste because of the heavy metal content. I kid you not.

 

[szzuk]

The components will be fine as jewelry, just don't eat them, or cut them up and inhale the dust. I suspect you weren't planning on eating them but maybe cutting them up. You'd have to inhale a lot of lead containing dust to do yourself harm but dont try!

I dont mind the ROHS hysteria, its a way of protecting people from themselves. I've done plenty of stupid things myself, despite classing myself as intelligent and well educated.

 

[tvtech]

I've done plenty of stupid things myself, despite classing myself as intelligent and well educated.

Hi

Does resurrecting a three year old thread from the dead qualify for any of the above

Regards,
tvtech

 

[JimB]

Does resurrecting a three year old thread from the dead qualify for any of the above

I am not sure that szzuk did resurect the thread, I think it was a spammer who has since been exterminated.

JimB

 

[cowboybob]

...Not too long ago water pipes in houses were made of pure lead. As far as I know nobody died of them.

In the latter centuries of the Roman Empire, the elites (i.e., those in power) commonly had lead pipes (the material for which was mined largely in England) for their potable water supplies. That, and their eating utensils, which were often coated with lead (since it had no taste, like copper or brass/bronze) or was present in their material (pewter, for instance).

And since lead will react in base or acidic (most notably, wine) solutions, lead compounds were ingested all day, every day.

There is a plausible theory that the downfall of the Roman Empire was in part due to lead poisoning, one manifestation of which is profound lethargy.

The lead may not have killed them, but it certainly contributed to their not caring about much of anything, (such as ruling effectively or sanely [although that had other causes as well and is another issue] and paying adequate attention to their defenses) which most assuredly did.

Just sayin'.