🧱 Asbestos
serious
Where you meet it: Pre-1980 radios, TVs, amplifiers and appliances: chassis heat shields behind output tubes and rectifiers, resistor and rheostat insulation, cloth-insulated wiring, gaskets, arc chutes in old switchgear, heater elements
What you need to know
- Look for grey-white fibrous board or paper behind heat sources, woven cloth wire insulation, and grey millboard washers under hot components.
- Wet it down, handle it intact, double-bag it, dispose properly.
- There is no safe exposure level, and mesothelioma latency is measured in decades.
The rule: NEVER cut, drill, sand, tear or blow out suspect material with compressed air.
Components this applies to
Mil Circular Connectors (D38999/MS)
Au 0.20–0.50 g/lb whole; 2.5–4.0 g/lb de-pinned contactsCu ~80 g/lbBase 70–85% Al 6061-T6 shell
A
Thermostats, Snap Discs & Limit Switches
Ag 0.4–1.6 g/lb as whole discs; 408–431 g/lb as harvested contactsBase bimetal steel discBase Hg ~3–4 g per bulb thermostat ampoule
B
Automotive wiring harness
Cu 48–52% recovery stripped; ~35% as-pulledAu under 0.1 g per whole vehicle
C
DIP, Rotary & BCD Switches
Au 0.20–0.40 g/lb (DIP); 0.10–0.25 g/lb (rotary)Ag 1.0–2.5 g/lbBase 60–75% plastic/phenolic
C
Industrial Control Boards (PLC/DCS/SCADA)
Au 0.05–0.20 g/lb typical I/O; 0.25–0.60 g/lb CPU and backplanes; 0.6–1.5 g/lb 1970s–80s ceramic-DIP DCSAg 1–8 g per relay moduleCu ~113 g/lb
C
Vintage Home Computers & Boards
Au 0.05–0.20 g per C64 board; 0.1–0.4 g per Apple II boardAu gold-lid ceramic DIPs at $150–400/lbCu ~40 g/lb
D