>From: Bernie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: Older PC and DOS Internet Forum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Re: [SURVPC] wedsplmgr
>Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 21:57:28 +0100
>
>Steven wrote:
> >> > Ah, but there are toxic stuff on the cards
> >>
> >> Only the lead I think, and not too terrible.
> >
>I have (still) no idea what they are called in english. But they have Br
>(if you know your chemistry you'll know what it's called in your own
>language) mixed together with other stuff to prevent fires. Of course Ca
>(Cadmium) is also dangerous - but you can often spot a leaking battery.
>IIRC it was some combination of Br and Cl and it's claimed it can cause
>cancer. Newer m/b have other toxics on them, but how safe/dangerous they
>are isn't settled yet.
>//Bernie
I think you're talking about what we call in English Polychlorinated
Biphenyls (PCBs, different from PCB meaning printed? circuit board), and
their cousins, Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBBs).
PCBs were used (and still are used) in electrical equipement as insulators,
as well as hydraulic fluids. PBBs were used as flame retardants, but their
use has been banned since a number of mass poisonings, one right here in my
part of Michigan.
These families of chemicals can both be absorbed through the skin with
contact as well as absorbed if ingested. They cause a number of symptoms
including chloracne, nausea, and low birth weight. They've been linked to
cancer, thyroid, and hormone problems, although the evidence in these areas
is still somewhat shaky. The reason they were banned was not just because
of these immediate health effects, but also because they bioaccumulate in
the body and are retained through time, possibly causing damage.
I'm not sure to what extent PCBs were used in MB production. I know their
main use is in large electrical transformers, like at the corner electrical
pole where the electricity is stepped-down for home use. They might be
found as the oil between plates in capacitors on MBs.
Jason Max Stotter
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
***
PB Legend 11 CD: 486 DX2/50, 32 MB ram, 540 MB HD, 2xCD, baby!
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