Cadmium-Coated chassis

[H713]

I was recently given a pair of NJE LVC II 20-1 bench power supplies with a Cadmium coated chassis that has the very familiar white powdery oxidation. It does indeed come off when rubbed. I know this is toxic, so I was planning to simply salvage the transformers from these and build a new bench power supply, but I'm wondering how I should go about disposing of the chassis themselves. I figured this was the best place to post about this since cadmium plating was pretty common on older audio equipment.

 

[BillWojo]

Wipe them down good with a damp cloth and reuse them. Seal it in with paint if you want. It's not uranium dust.
There was a similar thread yesterday maybe in the tube forum about a Magnavox chassis. Go look for that for more info.

BillWojo

 

[sKiZo]

Imagine what you're being exposed to next time you're following a garbage truck down the road, and a bit of cadmium exposure will begin to seem relatively harmless. <G>

 

[H713]

Okay, but is there a proper (environmentally friendly-ish) way to dispose of a chassis like this? One of the power supplies had some issues I wasn't willing to fix, so I salvaged the transformer for another project but I'm trying to be ethical about chassis disposal.

 

[BillWojo]

The amount of cadmium on that chassis is rather small. I would either toss it in the trash can or drop it off at the recycling center. Spray it with WD-40 to keep the dust down and DON'T tell the recyclers that it has a trace amount of cadmium on it. People get stupid over this stuff. It used to be everywhere at one time. Same as mercury.

BillWojo

 

[sKiZo]

Wonder if blasting it with a driveway torch would remove the nasties? Seems to me six foot of blue flame would do the trick.

 

[Steven Tate]

Wonder if blasting it with a driveway torch would remove the nasties? Seems to me six foot of blue flame would do the trick.

I don't think I would want to be breathing vaporized cadmium. It's a tiny amount. If it isn't specifically illegal in your area (like asbestos for example), wrap it in a plastic bag and send it to the landfill.

 

[triode17]

I was recently given a pair of NJE LVC II 20-1 bench power supplies with a Cadmium coated chassis that has the very familiar white powdery oxidation. It does indeed come off when rubbed. I know this is toxic, so I was planning to simply salvage the transformers from these and build a new bench power supply, but I'm wondering how I should go about disposing of the chassis themselves. I figured this was the best place to post about this since cadmium plating was pretty common on older audio equipment.

Cadmium is electrically plated onto the chassis for corrosion protection. Any powder you find on it is probably just sulpher. Is it yellowy or slightly greenish? If so, that's sulpher. It very slowly precipitates out of the air on to certain metals only. I am rebuilding a radio Craftsmen RC-10 tuner/preamp from 1952 and some sections have a yellow powder on them. I just wipe it down.
I'd say you can just throw out the chassis, the cadmium amount is very small and may stay there forever.

 

[arts]

Seems to me six foot of blue flame would do the trick.

Come over on curry night and I'll set you up

 

[restorer-john]

Come over on curry night and I'll set you up

You cracked me up with that one.

 

[sKiZo]

... and whoever would have thought a stereo could be considered hazardous equipment?? Brings new meaning to the phrase "audio exposure" ...

 

[tarior]

Gawd, there is a whole lot of silliness going on around here.

 

[H713]

The powdery substance is white, and I was led to believe that this is Cadmium oxide. This stuff was stored in a cabinet at a local high school for at least 15 years. In all likelihood it was there since the early 80s. The Eico 1030 high voltage supply I got from the same lot has the same problem, but it has a simpler chassis and is worth cleaning and restoring.

 

[tarior]

It isn't VX nerve agent. Just wipe it down with a rag dampened with something, and use it. Or chuck it into the scrap bin.

 

[UncleBingo]

^

It isn't VX nerve agent. Just wipe it down with a rag dampened with something, and use it. Or chuck it into the scrap bin.

Yep. And keep the grandkids from licking on it.

 

[Retrovert]

Cadmium plating degrades it two ways.

(1) Cadmium + sulfur (from the air) produces cadmium sulfide (CdS), a green-yellow powder.
(2) Cadmium + oxygen and moisture produces cadmium oxide (CdO), a white powder.​

Triode17 is correct about the green being sulfide.

Cadmium oxides and sulfides are highly toxic if inhaled, and the lungs absorb both well as does the GI tract. Safe removal uses a mask and nitrile gloves, and doing it outside. Under no circumstances burn it off, as this will create breathable cadmium which will be inhaled and poison you. No no no no no. For disposal just bag it and drop it off at the next hazardous waste cleanup. I doubt it is even considered hazardous waste for this purpose.

Surface corrosion on a chassis one wants to retain can be carefully removed using metal polish with the rags bagged and disposed of. Do this outdoors, long sleeves and gloves, wear a mask, discard the gloves and wash the clothes afterwards. It takes decades for cadmium corrosion to build up, and modern metal polishes have corrosion inhibitors which deter future corrosion.

Further reading:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium_poisoning
www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0117.html
www.osha.gov/Publications/3136-08R-2003-English.html​

 

[WobblySam]

So, that would be worse than , say, smoking a whole carton of Luckies?

 

[Retrovert]

Despite your snark, I'll answer the question. Yes, significantly worse because cigarette smoke contains cadmium, and if you smoke the combination is even worse.

Before joking about needless exposure to toxic metals, why not read a bit about the effects using the links I posted. Here's another one:

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=6&po=12
​

The amount needed for cadmium poisoning is very small. It is a Group 1 Human Carcinogen which means exposure should be avoided.

 

[tarior]

Funny thing about life-you ain't getting out of it alive.
This friend of mine, healthy guy, a few years older than me. Watches what he eats, works out daily, minimal alcohol consumption, non-smoker. Diagnosed with Parkinson's at age 55.
Went from zero to uncontrollable shaking in only about six months.

Stop worrying, be a little careful, but enjoy life. It will be over soon.

OP, if you aren't going to use that chassis for anything, just throw it in the scrap bin.

 

[toxcrusadr]

As both a haz waste and recycling expert, there's no problem recycling it as scrap metal. I would wipe it down either way just so no one is exposed to the dust during handling. If the scrap yard is not feasible for you, either bag it in its own bag or wipe it down before putting in the trash.

As mentioned earlier, you can wipe such a chassis down and clear coat it with varnish or paint it to halt further oxidation of the coating, if it's something you want to reuse. The presence of that plating under a clear coat wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Just watch out for the powder.