I knew that incineration is the typical
method; at least, I know that's how they tend to
handle dioxin style contamination, having lived near
Times Beach here in Missouri during the 80s. I wasn't
sure if newer methods like phytoremediation or similar
is as successful or whatnot.
Either way, it's not that I am over the top concerned,
but I was more interested in restuffing filter caps in
my TS-505D/U test set. I don't have it here in front
of me, but I suspect it was made in the 50s, or maybe
the early 60s. IF they were leaky (electrially) then
ok, I could cut them open and restuff them. Same with
my AN/URM-25D. But, what to do with the internal
compounds? If they're still liquid, I get that same
feeling about dumping them down the drain as if I
dumped a bunch of antifreeze down the drain. Throw it
in the trash? Eh...
Yes, I still use leaded solder, no, I am not a die
hard environmentalist, but it was about being safe.
Same thing as the old adage of keeping one hand in
your back pocket when you have a hand in the machine.
My past history of smoking and later diabetes will
likely kill me LONG before PCBs will, but it's never
too late to play it smart. ;).
Reuben
The
comments on PCB's/old capacitors interested me.
So, I sent an email to my older brother to get his
take on it. He's a retired chief engineer for a
big hazardous waste disposal outfit in CA. Here's
his reply: The only way to destroy PCB's is to
incinerate the oil as far as I know. Storage
places and of course the incinerator's have to be
federally approved to handle this stuff. We used
to get old capacitors and other items that were
likely to have PCB's but they occurred much less
frequently as time went on. All of the big
utility transformers were certified not to contain
PCB's before we would accept them. Our storage
permit had a special attachment to it specifying
where PCB's could be stored. We generally only
sent them on for incineration every few months.
They are "forever" compounds but thankfully they
are not a common problem any more.
----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, December 1, 2023 4:12:04 PM
Subject: Milsurplus Digest, Vol 236, Issue 4
Send Milsurplus mailing list submissions to
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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Oil filled capacitors and PCBs in our
equipment
([email protected])
2. Re: Yet another question: TS-505D/U lead
wire ([email protected])
3. Re: Oil filled capacitors and PCBs in our
equipment
([email protected])
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2023 20:19:15 +0000
From: [email protected]
To: "'[email protected]'"
<[email protected]>
Cc: 'Military Surplus Mail List' <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Oil filled capacitors
and PCBs in our
equipment
Message-ID:
<5264a61bba7b810d8c510efd17fcd977c17e095c@webmail>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
In clean-up projects here PCB was destroyed by
incineration,
Jon AB9AH
"I have always preferred diversions to duties;
this strange taste has
clung to me all through my life." Clarence Darrow
-----------------------------------------From: "[email protected]"
To: "Military Surplus Mail List"
Cc:
Sent: Friday December 1 2023 1:55:35PM
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Oil filled capacitors
and PCBs in our
equipment
Manufacturing economics being what it is, one
would expect capacitor
makers used the cheapest oil available that met
the electrical
requirements - so, probably mineral oil almost
always, unless very
high voltages or flameproof requirements existed.
There is a simple test to identify PCB vs mineral
oil, used once
(maybe still) in the electrical power industry.
Mineral oils are
lighter than PCBs & will rise to the top of
water but PCBs will sink.
So if you can get a drop or two of the suspect
oil, you can test.
As for disposal, is it any better in the long run
to send to a
landfill a sealed but leaking (or eventually
leaking) capacitor body
or some paper towels or rags with the same
quantity of oil? Our
hobby's output of PCB trash is almost microscopic.
If we're really,
really, really environmentally concerned (as we
use our lead filled
solder) perhaps there's a method to chemically
destroy PCB?? It
wouldn't have to be "economical" since we're not
concerned with
neutralizing industrial quantities.
Wayne WB4OGM
On 01/12/2023 17:05, Reuben Popp wrote:
> My apologies to everyone for spamming the
list so much lately. I'm
> trying to do my research before asking the
list, but sometimes my
> google-fu isn't exactly fruitful.
>
> Anyway... Oil filled caps in our gear. Was
it standard to denote
> whether they contained PCBs in them, or is
it a safe assumption
that
> ANY oil filled cap with a manufacture date
before 1980 is suspect?
As
> most of those are likely out of spec and
leaky, is there ANY way to
> open the cap, dispose of the contents at an
EPA approved site and
then
> restuff the shell with new components? Or is
my only recourse to
> decouple the old cap from the circuit and
then place newer ones
under
> the chassis (or try to hide them, etc). If
my only option is the
> latter, once decoupled from the circuit,
what's the likelihood that
it
> will actually start leaking (as in, the
oil). One would think that
> would be fairly miniscule, but what with
some of these going on 80+
> years old, it's a crap shoot at this point,
no?
>
> Thanks again
> Reuben
>
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2023 20:50:53 +0000 (UTC)
From: "[email protected]"
<[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]"
<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Yet another question:
TS-505D/U lead wire
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Reuben -
I'm six thousand miles away from my wire stash
right now, but I'll see if my wife can cut some
lead wire and send it to you.? I'll email with you
directly to work out the details.?
Steve WD8DAS??
[email protected]??
http://www.wd8das.net/??
http://af4k-crystals.com/??
--------------------------------------------------------------------??
Radio is your best entertainment value.??
--------------------------------------------------------------------??
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2023 21:11:49 +0000 (UTC)
From: "[email protected]"
<[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]"
<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Oil filled capacitors
and PCBs in our
equipment
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
I only rarely see capacitors marked as "containing
PCB".? These are usually quite new caps, not the
ones in vintage gear'
I rely on the trade names to decide if a capacitor
or transformer contains PCB.? You can see a list
of some of these names at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychlorinated_biphenyl
I've done a number of projects to replace PCB
capacitors at broadcast transmitter sites.? The
trade names I remember seeing most frequently were
Pyranol
AskarelDykanolClorinol
Santotherm
I don't have much concern about occasionally
touching dielectric oils containing PCB.? I just
clean up the area carefully and wash my hands
thoroughly.? But I worry very much about having
PCB around if there is a significant chance of
fire.? In a fire, I understand that PCB can change
into other very toxic chemicals that we do not
want to breathe.
Steve WD8DAS??
[email protected]??
http://www.wd8das.net/??
http://af4k-crystals.com/??
--------------------------------------------------------------------??
Radio is your best entertainment value.??
--------------------------------------------------------------------??
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