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MICROSCRAPPINGE-waste field guide

💨 Fumes, ventilation and open flame

serious

Where you meet it: Any hot work on circuit boards, conformal coating, epoxy, PVC or plastic housings

What you need to know

Never burn circuit boards. FR-4 contains brominated flame retardants; uncontrolled combustion produces brominated dioxins and furans, hydrogen bromide, and heavy-metal-laden smoke. It is the single most harmful practice in informal e-waste processing — and it destroys value as well.
Conformal coating, epoxy, PVC and plastic housings all release irritant and toxic products when heated. PVC gives hydrogen chloride and dioxins.
A box fan pointed at you is not ventilation — it dilutes fume into your breathing zone. Use local exhaust capturing at the source, nozzle within a few inches, or work outdoors and upwind.
For a bench: fume extractor with pre-filter, HEPA and activated carbon.

The rule: NEVER burn boards, wire insulation or plastic. Ever.

Components this applies to

MLCC — palladium-bearing (PME, pre-2000) Capacitors · $100–170/lb Pd 2.3–9 g/lbAg 4.5–23 g/lbBase Ni S Sterling & Silver-Plated Flatware Other · $700–2000/lb Ag 92.5% ≈ 420 g/lb sterlingAg hollow-handle knives: only 8–20 g per pieceAg silver plate: ~0.1–0.5 g per teaspoon S Thick-Film Hybrid Microcircuits ICs & chips · $15–90/lb Au 1.5–4 g/lb packaged; 5–10 g/lb stripped substratesAg 0–15 g/lb on Ag/Pd conductor variantsPd present in Ag/Pd pastes S BGA with gold tab / gold-corner BGA ICs & chips · $60–110/lb Au 1.0–2.0 g/lbAg 0.3–1 g/lb A IC Test, Burn-In & ZIF Sockets Contacts & relays · $15–60/lb Au 0.5–2 g/lb complete; 3–8 g/lb de-populated contactsCu ~60 g/lbPd Pd-Ni with gold flash on high-cycle sockets A Telecom / military boards Boards · $11–35/lb Au 0.3–4 g/lbAg 1–8 g/lbPd 0.02–0.3 g/lbCu 15–25% A Card sockets — PCMCIA, CF, SD, SIM Contacts & relays · $60–250/lb Au 0.8–2.5 g/lbCu ~150 g/lb B Gold-plated SMD (SAW filters, RF modules, shields) ICs & chips · $40–90/lb Au 0.5–1.5 g/lbAg 0.2–1 g/lb B Machined-pin DIP sockets (gold barrel) Contacts & relays · $120–300/lb Au 1.0–2.4 g/lbCu ~250 g/lb B Plastic ICs — pre-2010 (gold bond wire) ICs & chips · $25–45/lb Au 0.5–0.7 g/lbAg 0.2–1 g/lbPd trace–0.1 g/lb B RF Coaxial Connectors (SMA/N/BNC/TNC) Connectors & pins · $15–35/lb Au 0.10–0.40 g/lb (SMA); 0.01–0.05 g/lb (N/BNC)Cu ~190 g/lbAg trace B Silver-Plated Copper Wire & Coax Connectors & pins · $8–25/lb Ag 2.8–6.8 g/lb as-received; 5.7–11.3 g/lb stripped conductorCu ~230 g/lbBase 40–55% PTFE/FEP B Tantalum capacitors Capacitors · $18–85/lb Ta 30–40 wt% of the capAg 1–3% in some B Automotive wiring harness Automotive · $1.5–3/lb Cu 48–52% recovery stripped; ~35% as-pulledAu under 0.1 g per whole vehicle C Backup batteries & Dallas RTC modules ☠ ICs & chips · $50–800/lb Cu ~40 g/lbAu <0.1 g/lb C Card-Edge Receptacles & Sockets Contacts & relays · $20–60/lb Au 0.15–0.50 g/lb for genuine gold-contact socketsCu ~130 g/lbBase 55–70% PBT/LCP/nylon C Ceramic disc capacitors Capacitors · $20–70/lb Ag 4–10 g/lbPd 0.05–0.3 g/lb C DC-DC converter bricks & isolation modules Other · $40–400/lb Au 0.08–0.3 g/lbAg 1–4 g/lbCu ~90 g/lb C DIP, Rotary & BCD Switches Contacts & relays · $10–30/lb 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 ECU / engine control module Automotive · $3–8/lb Au 0.11 g/lb of bare boardAg 0.45 g/lbPd 0.05 g/lbCu ~20% of board mass C Hybrid / EV traction inverter ⚡ Automotive · $8–20/lb Cu 3–8 kg per inverterAg 0.5–3 g sinter per power stageAu 0.02–0.08 g on gate-driver boardsBase 5–15 kg aluminium housing C Insulated copper wire Other · $1–2/lb Cu 45–78% recovery by grade C Metal oxide varistors (MOVs) Other · $15–40/lb Ag 6–14 g/lb C MLCC — modern nickel (BME, post-2005) Capacitors · $20–55/lb Pd 0.2–0.7 g/lbAg 1.4–2.7 g/lbBase Ni 5–20% C Silver mica capacitors Capacitors · $80–500/lb Ag 10–20 g/lbCu ~60 g/lb C Thick-film resistor networks (SIP/DIP) ICs & chips · $15–50/lb Ag 2–5 g/lbPd 0.2–0.7 g/lb C Bridge rectifiers and power diodes Other · $20–80/lb Cu 140–240 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbAu ~0.02 g/lb D Carbon and metal film resistors Other · $8–25/lb Cu ~15 g/lb D Console Game Cartridges Boards · $10–150/lb Au 0.003–0.015 g per cartridge ≈ 0.04 g/lb wholeAu 0.6–0.9 g/lb of trimmed fingersCu negligible D EMI shield cans and fences Other · $3–10/lb Cu 150–290 g/lb D Film capacitors (polyester / polypropylene) Capacitors · $10–40/lb Cu ~20 g/lb D Gold-Plated Flex Circuits (FFC/FPC/ZIF) Contacts & relays · $10–40/lb Au 0.05–0.15 g/lb of cableCu ~100 g/lbBase 60–80% polyimide/PET + acrylic D LEDs (through-hole and power SMD) Other · $20–90/lb Au 0.02–0.08 g/lbAg 2–7 g/lbCu ~100 g/lb D Optocouplers / optoisolators ICs & chips · $40–200/lb Au 0.1–0.35 g/lbAg 2–5 g/lbCu ~120 g/lb D Terminal blocks and screw terminals Contacts & relays · $15–50/lb Cu 110–200 g/lb D Thermistors (NTC/PTC) and piezo elements Other · $20–70/lb Ag 2–5 g/lb D Transformers, inductors, chokes & toroids Other · $15–60/lb Cu 100–220 g/lb D USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, RJ45 & audio jacks Contacts & relays · $15–60/lb Au 0.1–0.5 g/lbCu ~80 g/lb D

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