Kaiser613 wrote:
: TV's are a good source of scrap because so many are available but all TV's contain hazmat, so the process of breaking them down endangers yourself and the environment, crt "box" TV's have all that leaded glass , and flatscreens have poisonous organic compounds in the screen glass, and it's bad news, I got poisoned by it recently and it is extremely unpleasant even compared to heavy metal poisoning, and lost here was the only person in the whole internet who could provide any meaningful information about what poisoned me, and apparently there's nothing that poison control could have done for me, so very serious bad news,
Everyone is aware of the CRT lead issue. The thing many people forget us the phosphorus.
Without going into a scientific aspect I don’t fully understand; when a crt finally truly dies some sort of chemical reaction happens over time that makes the phosphate in the screen grill break down into its bare elements.
Phosphorus goes boom.
Only once, but I had a screen go up in a VERY hot fire once due to sweating over the bare phosphorus. Luckily I had the fire extinguisher (chemical certified) and put it out but damn that’s hot. That’s why white phosphorus matches work best.
LCD screens... !
The makeup falls into the same category as plastic sorting. No two manufacturers use the same chemical composition.
Poison control is really nice but they just scratch their heads and ask if you want an ambulance.
I’ve been poisoned twice in my life from them. Both times very different reactions. The first was burning. Like this is what hell is like burning. Inside me. I heard one vet describing it as like drinking napalm. All the burning but inside.
The second time was an iPhone or iPod touch screen. I don’t quite remember which. But I spent 3 days feeling like I was in the Mojave desert. No mater how much water I drank I felt so dry and dehydrated.
It all passes. Unless you lick up every last drop your unlikely to die. But I use gloves now always, when handling screens.
I’ve done a lot of really stupid stuff in the name of science and experience and understanding!
From every part of my being: you do NOT want LCry poisoning. I’ve heard others tell of convulsions, euphoria, straight up acid trips. Extreme pain. Complete motor control shutdown.
Oh. And here’s an internet fable for you. I can’t find any legit record anywhere so authenticity is doubtful but even if it didn’t happen it could:
A man in his 40s was scrapping monitors when one split and he somehow ingested lCry. He dialled 999 and and said what happened and gave his symptoms. But he didn’t get an ambulance. Instead the local government went all ET on him and his house. Men in space suits tapped up his whole house. Left him in bed to suffer. And remove and disposed of all his possessions.
It’s obviously not real but it falls into the be careful type old wives’ tale.
You are highly unlikely to come across a split lcd screen but always use caution and care. If one does split apart. Bag it! Tag it! Bring it to fire or hazmat. Say your sorry and pay any fees for disposal.