PCB

Mostly just lead from the solder and fiberglass dust (some risk of it being carcinogenic). Nothing much else on most boards is dangerous, including most components (a very rarely do they contain mercury, BeO or other nasties). Keep a clean shop, wear a respirator where dust is being generated and wash your hands before handling food and you should be okay.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

you might want to use a dust mask when doing a lot of them. any form of powder really isn't good for you to have going down into your lungs.

--
Real Programmers Do things like this.
http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

** Most electronic PCBs are made from compressed phenolic ( kinda yellow or brown coloured) - the rest are made from polyester or epoxy resin material reinforced with glass fibres.

The printed tracks are made of pure copper and the soldering pads from lead/tin alloy.

Basically harmless to humans - unless you dine on them.

...... Phil

Your perfectly fine, just dont go cutting up capacitors in half and then licking the insides of them. However let me be a devils advocate (really just to answer your questions about whats in them). Some components have minute amount of mercury in them, probobly no more than what is in a big slab of farmed salmon. Your pretty much safe. The dust thing is pretty much no worry. I have never seen anyone where a mask while cutting, drilling PCBs, or even metal products.

BTW, how can you stand the smell of old PCB boards. Whenever I take apart an old computer, or anything electric that is old, the PCB board is always a bit stinky.

However, I do know that if you ever cut up bones (animal) you need to wear a mask. The dust particles from bones are very light and settle easily into the lungs, leaving the person doing the cutting with a permanent cough. (I'm a biologist)

This isn't entirely true. I've used glass-reinforced poly-imide boards for high temperature opperation, and one board with two layers of poly-amide bonded teflon cloth (for high frequency operation).

I've also used one alumina-loaded teflon (PTFE) board where we wanted sub-nanosecond edges.

Rogers make cheaper substrates for that market - see

and you might run into them when dismantlng satellite receivers.

Your really don't want to inhale glass fibre fragments. You can do permanent damage to your lungs in a single eposure.

--
Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

In message , dated Sun, 3 Sep 2006, Mr. J D writes

So why didn't you mention anthrax?

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OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try www.jmwa.demon.co.uk and www.isce.org.uk
2006 is YMMVI- Your mileage may vary immensely.

John Woodgate, J M Woodgate and Associates, Rayleigh, Essex UK

Only if the cat's been peeing on them!

You want a big flat space in the Tate (They have some of that with pine floorboards) but first you have to win the Pullman prize.

Once you have done that then you need some white tape and five computers. An original PC and a couple of modern ones and an IBM370..... oh, and some bricks.

So, what you do is stick the 370 in a corner and build a moat around it with the bricks.

Then you lay out a couple of squares of the right size with the white tape.

In one square you put the original PC and one of the new ones running Microsoft.

In the other square you put the other new one running Linux.

Then you get your mates in and spend a week feeding them home brew and curry (the Pullman prize should pay for that) on the understanding that they are invited to shit, piss and vomit in the remaining space.

Obviously, you might need some cloths to wipe up anything that spills within your squares or the moat... like what chefs do.... Just as long as it looks squeaky clean in the specified areas.

At the press conference you say,

'If you really need to ask then you are wasting your time.'

DNA