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It can short out to stuff touching the edge such as the chassis, screwdriver, etc. I suppose burrs and nicks could also cause shorts. A bridge could also form during HASL finishing. Exposed active copper in a screw hole is a bad thing......
If it's not connected to anything, then it won't cause a problem, assuming reasonable spacing between it and active parts of the circuit.
I have not had the chance to do this yet. The instructor who taught this has an inspection microscope just for this purpose that fits in his toolbox. It looks like an 8 inch long loupe. I believe he said it had a reticle so he could directly read off the thicknesses. I doubt that there would be significant burring when the metal is embedded in layers, but only a test would tell. A saw would cut the boards in a motion across the thickness and could burr. The router cuts along the length of the board and is not likely to burr. If it did, it would be uneven and cause lumpiness in the viewable edge so it would be apparent.
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