Tubes and RoHS compliance?

[Eli Duttman]

For us, that's a nice scheme; the only difficulty is 'how do you dump an old, broken mercury-filled tube without getting broke'.

You deal with mercury by adding powdered sulfur. CAREFULLY break the worn out tube into a container preloaded with sulfur. A chemical reaction takes place that yields mercuric sulfide (HgS). HgS is about the most insoluble substance known. Concentrated nitric acid does not attack HgS. Sulfur makes mercury non-toxic. 🙂

 

[SY]

Elemental mercury is not terribly toxic. But some of the oxides....

 

[anatech]

Hi SY,
Gee, and I have an ounce of elemental mercury in a plastic bottle. I bet someone would be all excited about that. With all the lead in my solder and ammunition and mercury my basement is a toxic dump.

Robski666,
Anyone who has been in this industry (or any industry) knows the customer is always the one who gets taken to the bank in the end. Using common sense normally will yield an unpopular decision. Most lawmakers don't have the fortitude to do the right thing.

Welcome to the pink, fuzzy world.

-Chris

 

[poobah]

I'm going to hoard tons of kester 44... and then barter with y'all for gasoline.

😉

 

[anatech]

Hey poobah,
In a few years, I might be the only one driving then. I found some more solder. NOS.

I guess I better start using new solder now to protect my investment. 😉

-Chris

 

[poobah]

It'll will come to that if we don't get off our silly "no nuclear" kick and get to work on hydrogen.

And the DIY'ers will be smelting old PC's and cell phones to "get the lead out".

😀

 

[anatech]

You know, I was just thinking (well, I call it thinking). Does anyone have any idea how much solder goes out in the trash due to PCB repair? I unload a reasonable amount out of my desoldering tool and sponge from the station.

Imagine how much is in the waste from larger operations!

-Chris

 

[SY]

The more important question for me is, within the realm of hazards, how important is this? I don't know the answer to that, but I have confidence that the regulations were drafted with cheerful disregard of relative benefit and costs/consequences.

 

[poobah]

So... you haven't heard about the little hungry children eating dead cell phones I take it?

 

[anatech]

Hi SY,
You know I do not disagree with you. But that's how laws are enacted.

-Chris

 

[anatech]

Hi poobah,
Nope, just pets. They like remotes too!

-Chris

 

[davidsrsb]

Touching the fine solder dust you get in a solder pump and then eating is an efficient way of getting lead into your body.

 

[poobah]

Yep,

You should always wash your solder pump before eating...

 

[anatech]

Hi davidsrsb,
After 20yrs (a while ago) of breathing solder fumes, I had myself tested for heavy metals. The test came back "okay". I have my doubts on that.

I may get a retest at some point, it's been many years since the first one.

-Chris

 

[EC8010]

Does anyone remember the Keith Monks unipivot arm from the 70s? It used gold pins dipping into baths of mercury to make the signal contacts between arm and base...

 

[SY]

KM Arm

Notorious for having the contacts dissolve in the mercury bath, a disastrous amalgamation.

 

[anatech]

KM arm,
Cool, I didn't hear of it. Can you imagine trying to bring that to market today? Hazmat would be all over you in a flash!

-Chris

 

[poobah]

Wow... that's funny!

Maybe he should have used silver?

 

[davidsrsb]

I still see the mercury tube manometers (blood pressure testers) in use everywhere here.

Heavy metals are not that bad as along as you don't ingest them. In this industry I am more worried about the solvents we used to use for cleaning

 

[Tweeker]

Thats because mercury still is the best stuff to put in em. Still use mercury thermometers too, and busting them isnt so rare. But with 3 antiquated coal burning power plants, 3 more coal plants that put out the same dirt as the one of the relics, and a defunct uranium enrichment facility near me it hardly matters, especially since these spills get cleaned.