# Toxic materials in PCs and other PCBs



## Book (Jun 27, 2007)

I have the habit of messing around with old computer hardware and sometimes I tear apart stuff so much that I think I sould have some clue of what parts of them are considered toxic and which safe. I have searched the internet but the info was too general (describing which materials are used, but I wanted to know exactly what each PC part contains. For example, what are the HDD platers made of? Can you burn them without worrying about the fumes? What about solder, and PCB plastic/silicon? Do they give off fumes?)
Recently I took apart the neodymium magnets of my HDD, but they were glued to their mu-metal plate so when I pulled them off, part of their outer plating stuck on the metal and now the inner part keeps giving off (few) metal shavings on my fingers. Plus I had to saw-cut the mu metal to remove them.

What I would like is if you got some link describing the stuff above, post it, or if you have any knowledge yourself/can answer any of my questions above post something as well.

What precautions do you take (if any)?

Thanks!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I think generally the most dangerous thing in PC boards is the lead solder. There is trace amounts of mercury in stuff like batteries, but that's generally not an issue. I can't imagine an issue with hard disk platters, they're either aluminum or glass, depending on the specific make/model of hard disk. The magnetic material is a variety of things also, but again I've never seen or heard of anyone considering it toxic.


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