vintage computers and lead poisoning?

From: Paul Koning <pkoning_at_equallogic.com>
Date: Thu Jun 3 09:16:52 2004

>>>>> "SHAUN" == SHAUN RIPLEY <vax3900_at_yahoo.com> writes:

 SHAUN> I started to worry about lead paint problem when buying an old
 SHAUN> house. I bought a lead test kit and tested the paint chips
 SHAUN> from the windows and fould them to be positive. Then I tested
 SHAUN> some computer boards, and the result was postive too. Have you
 SHAUN> ever found white powders near solder on your vintage board?
 SHAUN> They are most likely lead dioxide.

True. Ditto for any computer except, maybe, some made in the past
year or so.

I'd say you should look for boards with corrosion like that on them
and clean them with a suitable solvent. If you find any, that would
mean the boards weren't correctly cleaned when they were last
soldered. Unless the factory was really incompetent, it should have
been cleaned right at that stage -- so any leftover flux is usually
from field repairs.

Quite independent of any health hazards (not clear if there's enough
lead there to be a real issue) corrosion could make the circuit stop
working...

           paul
Received on Thu Jun 03 2004 - 09:16:52 BST

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