Gold plated EMI gasket - Toronto

[irodd]

Hi,

I have about 3.1 sq. meters gold plated BeCu Alloy 25 gasket(430pcs, see attached drawing). Plating thickness 1.27 - 2.5 microns(see attached Plating Spec - line 03).
So I calculated 74-144g of gold.

Looking for a buyer in Toronto, Ontario

 

[Lou]

Too bad it has beryllium in it.

 

[irodd]

Too bad it has beryllium in it.

Could you please explain me there is hazardous material problem. I(as beginner of course :lol: ) see this way
1. Strip gold from base material in Sulphuric Cell
2. Dissolve gold in HCl-Cl= Clorox Method
3. Drop gold from gold solutions using SMB= Sodium Meta Bisulfite

So beryllium is still staying in alloy with copper -BeCu alloy is absolutely safe in solid state?

 

[skippy]

Absolutely safe is never possible in any activity. The beryllium certainly wont absolutely stay in the copper, there will be some dissolved while in the cell.

 

[irodd]

12.8x13.4mm x9658pcs

 

[pesco]

Wikipedia link -> Beryllium

small extract from it:

Chronic berylliosis is a pulmonary and systemic granulomatous disease caused by inhalation of dust or fumes contaminated with beryllium; either large amounts over a short time or small amounts over a long time can lead to this ailment. Symptoms of the disease can take up to 5 years to develop; about a third of patients with it die and the survivors are left disabled. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) lists beryllium and beryllium compounds as Category 1 carcinogens.

I was playing with chemistry since I was 12 or 13, had chemistry lessons at high school, college (bio-chem profile), 4 years at uni, so I am used to lab procedures and safety precautions. I have no problems playing with Hg, Cd, F, NO_x etc, but one thing I can tell you - if I suspect even small amounts of Beryllium in any substance (regardless if it is an alloy, ash, salt or whatever) I stay WAY CLEAR of that substance. Period.

 

[goldsilverpro]

Beryllosis
http://www.google.com/search?q=berylliosis+symptoms&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a#hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Frf&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&sclient=psy-ab&q=berylliosis+&oq=berylliosis+&gs_l=serp.3..0l4.6017.6017.0.8858.1.1.0.0.0.0.146.146.0j1.1.0.cese..0.0.O5sp2BpYAkA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=d1f31ed96220cc52&biw=1116&bih=463

 

[Marcel]

If you worry about Be, stay away from PCs, refining gold-plated pins etcs. It´s in almost any contact that was made in the last three decades.
I saw an XRF on CPUs where a guy just melted all the metals together he found after crushing them . Be was also there (tiny amount but still).
Berrilium is in almost any contact in IT electronics. You strip two notebooks, in one there is none in the next one there is Be.
You dont see it, smell it, but it is there. If you are dealing with e-waste say "hello" to beryllium-copper, or say goodbye to recovering from e-scrap.

PS: No, I dont think everybody will fall sick and die in the next five years from Be. E-scrap contains so many hazerous material (arsenic,Pb etc.), you get exposed to that and you increase your risks when dealing with it, so stay smart,safe and don´t get too greedy. Leave complicated stuff to the Pros, no matter if 98%,95% or even less.

 

[joem]

Is beryllium hazardous to those of use who mainly take apart computers and sort ewaste into components to resell?

 

[patnor1011]

Is beryllium hazardous to those of use who mainly take apart computers and sort ewaste into components to resell?

No.

 

[joem]

Is beryllium hazardous to those of use who mainly take apart computers and sort ewaste into components to resell?

No.

I am curious about this and other toxic metals since here there were a bunch of plastic blinds with lead based paint that were banned because dust would land on the paint and pick up lead then transfer to wherever when blinds were open and closed. I am not trying to create a fear rumour just wondering if those dust filled computers can do the same with the metals inside?

 

[Marcel]

That is a different thing. A paint is applied onto an object and can be worn off and emit particles. What we are talking about are alloys, a mix of metals where the hazerous material is bound to the mainmetal and will only leave this compound if chemical, thermal or mechanical force is applied. As long as you dont melt it, burn it, dissolve it and just disassemble electronics I see zero risks concerning this matter.

 

[Marcel]

@joem: If you need detailed information on e-waste and its toxic components check this doc:
http://www.ees.ufl.edu/homepp/townsend/Research/ElectronicLeaching/UF%20EWaste%20TC%20Report%20July%2004%20v1.pdf

and the links at the end of it.

Marcel

 

[qst42know]

A question:

Would a cyanide strip leave the 2% beryllium untouched?

And then could the copper alloy then be sent safely to the scrap yard?

 

[samuel-a]

qst42know

I don't have much knowledge when it comes to cyanide so i can only assume that the effect would be on the surface just as you would expect from your CN leach to attack the Ni and some of the copper beneath the gold. If Be and Zn are there, they will probably be leached out as well.
Though in my mind, dealing with cyanide, the toxicity of metals leached into solution is secondary to the hazards posed by the CN itself...