Beocord 5000 white powder on chassis safe to work on?

[teebomus]

I picked up this bang and Olufsen cassette deck, ordered the belts and was hoping to get it running again. When I open it up and took the cover off lots of white powder coming off the metal parts.
I googled and found out the white powder could be toxic depending on what type it is. This is a type 4716, first generation tape deck manufacturer from 75 to 1980. But I don't know if the toxic stuff would have been used during that time period. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[dankik]

There are test kits available for determining if you have Cadmium metal present.
Here is an example of one (no affiliation with seller)

 

[aldena007]

Oxidized Aluminum is white and considered non-toxic in most instances. If this white powder is on an aluminum surface it is benign chemically but unsightly on "bright" finished surfaces. When removed from an aluminum surface it leave a blemish. Cadmium surfaces have a yellowish tint. A picture would help.

 

[teebomus]

I appreciate the advice. Yeah, the pictures in my first post aren't very good ones. I'll try to get a better one

 

[teebomus]

I just was trying to determine what kind of metal this was. It's very heavy. And a magnet sticks to it. So I'm guessing it's steel rather than aluminum.