Beryllium Oxide and some other metals?

[IntelGold]

Hi All,
This is my first post after months of reading and studying. I hope i am welcome here and my question does not seem too silly.
I have lots of scrap Cpu, Motherboards, Pins, Memory cards and the like. I know what most of the material in my collection is, but, i found some curcuits which i am unfamiliar with?
My first question is about the Metal/Ceramic Beryllium Oxide. I know the boards contain this compound but i am unsure where its located? They have some white ceramic looking chips on, am i looking in the wrong place? Also does it come in any other color than white? Reason for asking as many my know if you broke/shatter the chips the resulting dust particles are very toxic and can cause permanant damage.
These boards contain a good yield of gold which i want to extract but dont want to end up in Hospital
On the reverse side of the Boards they are covered in what could be Silver, Aluminium, Tin.......I just dont know. I have tested them with nitric/Hcl and it turned a slight grey color which i read as silver but no major reaction. Am i wrong? Oh Yes they are none Magnetic.
The gold on these boards is very thick.
Hope someone can point me in the right direction please. I will add a pic of what i think are the Beryllium Oxide Chips when my camera has recharged.
Thanks for your time.

 

[g_axelsson]

If you suspect something to be tin-plated, just rub it against a piece of paper. Soft tin makes a grey streak, silver none as it is too hard.

/Göran

 

[IntelGold]

Thanks Goran, I rubbed it on some paper as you said and there is a very light grey streak. I am now assuming that it is tin. Seems weird that such a heavy gold plated object would have a cheap tin reverse. Oh well, i'm learning new stuff everyday.
I presume the boards pictured are safe and contain no nasty material?. I would rather be safe than sorry.
Thanks.

 

[g_axelsson]

The gold is only applied where it is needed, your boards are pieces of rotary switches and it only needs gold on the side where the contactors slide. It's perfectly logical to only plate one side.

/Göran

 

[etack]

Ceramic Beryllium Oxide is I believe pink like in microwave magnetrons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavity_magnetron

If you wear gloves stand up wind, and don't drink your solutions little to no toxins will be able to get into you.


Eric

SP

 

[qst42know]

You shouldn't melt beryllium either.

 

[IntelGold]

Thanks for your help everyone. Much Appreciated.
I have added some more pictures. As you can see the chips have a off white ceremic type substance around the inner rim, i presume this is the Beryllium Oxide?
I noticed when taking the photo's that the silver colored casing had scratched away(sorry cant see it very well on the pic) revealing what looks like copper. Could the copper be coated with beryllium Oxide? I am confused as to where the Beryllium will be. I thought that Beryllium is a silver metal and the Beryllium Oxide makes it into a more porous substance........ :?:
A sticker inside says "Contains Beryllium Oxide" Caution!
And last but not least are the pins in the connectors worth processing? And will the Chips be Gold Plate or solid...?
Sorry for so many questions but i am playing it safe, my health is more important than any gold is.
Thanks People.

 

[qst42know]

"Contains Beryllium Oxide"

Some thermal grease compounds contain beryllium oxide. Other applications can be found here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium_oxide

In the ceramic form it isn't considered a hazardous waste as long as you aren't creating dust.

 

[acpeacemaker]

There are all kinds of things that can be scary unknowns when tearing in to things. So questioning your health is never silly. Anything man-made isn't going to be good for your body.(smoke,gas,objects,etc) I understand your concern though.

I had a friend a while back that ripped into a ton of old junk. Though they didn't know a great deal about electronics. They found what they thought was a good source of aluminum. While somewhat true they didn't know the dangers and hazards of electrolytic caps.