I was having a chat today with a large European commercial refiner and we were talking about melting silver. One of the things that came up was the potential for up to about Cadmium of levels of up to 5% being present in most tableware. Having refelcted on our conversation I have looked at the precuations that should be taken when melting this material but am thinking about the alternatives. What I'd like to try to understand is: -
1. Is there any way to test items before melting to see if there is a Cadmium element to the items. Would XRF pick this up?
2. What would be the alternative to melting. I understand there is a chemical process but would this just move the problem to safe disposal of the chemicals?
Any help greatly appreciated.
1. Is there any way to test items before melting to see if there is a Cadmium element to the items. Would XRF pick this up?
2. What would be the alternative to melting. I understand there is a chemical process but would this just move the problem to safe disposal of the chemicals?
Any help greatly appreciated.