I’ve recently bought some parts for my trains, the installation of which involve some toxic materials and I’d like some advice on how to safely handle and dispose of them. Specifically I bought some passenger car trucks that I need to drill holes in. Only after I opened the package at home did I find the note that the trucks contain lead. Similarly, I bought a can replacement motor for an old Athearn switcher. Aside from the warning that says “this product contains chemicals which are known to the State of California to cause cancer,” the instructions also say that the locomotive frame must be cut down or milled to allow the motor to be positioned correctly. I don’t know, but I suspect that the frame contains lead.
So, what is a safe way to drill or mill model railroad parts that contain lead to prevent contamination of the environment or hazard to health? If all of the filings and dust created can be contained, what is a safe way to dispose of them?
Relax. It’s a low percent of lead in the (probably ZAMAC) frame, tin/lead solder in the motor. Not U235.
Don’t eat the filings. Wash your hands after you do the milling/drilling.
/Bill
As for disposal of any materials that may be toxic, our town has certain collection days where we can bring our items to the town recycling area. You might want to check your area for similar disposal.
Does it say that: this product is known to have ______ in it wich is known by the state of california to cause cancer and birth defects:?
I forgot part of it as you can see.
If that’s what it said just throw away the leftovers promptly and wash your hands and the surface they were on especially if you little kids. You’ll be fiine as long as you don’t eat it (even then you still might be fine.) or stick your fingers in your mouth after you handled the parts (even then you still might be fine.).
EDIT: actually tou only need to wash the surface if you have litte kids. Now I do suggest that you do wash your hands after handling it…well atleast I do after handling fishing gear but model stuff I don’t know. And the frame is probably just solid metal unless it doesn’t look like it but seriously I wouldn’t worry about itespecially if says “the state of california” in here in cali just about everthing will give you cancer and then some.
Often the guys at the local firehall are pretty clued in to how to deal with and dispose of hazardous materials since the often have to fight fires in and around the stuff. So, a call to them may send you in the right direction?
Whatever you do, don’t feed it to lab rats. They’re the ones that have trouble with this stuff.
Seriously, you’re not going to generate enough of anything to be worth bothering with. It’s probably more important to make sure you’re working in a well-ventilated place when dealing with paints and solvents. You’re not likely to ingest metal filings, but those nasty vapors will get into your system.
And while we’re at it, make sure you wear eye protection when you’re drilling and grinding.
First off, [#welcome] to the forums.
As has been stated, the hazard represented by the metal residue of drilling and filing models has been greatly exaggerated by the popular press and the Chicken Littles. Unless you generate quantities measured in ounces, no special disposal care is required.
As for “the usual comment,” IMHO the State of California has been known to cause cancer in laboratory animals! (Also erosion of the logic centers in elected and appointed officials of our idiot neighbor.)
The sure cure to personal safety is a bar of soap and a sinkful of water.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - which is suspected by the State of California to have a risk of cancer)
I wouldn’t worry too much about it because lead is rarely used in anything nowadays and as long as you wash your hands afterwrads, you will be fine. The California warnings was an attempt for the State of California to be NOT liable for anything. See, these days, you will be liable for negligence if you don’t warn people of the dangers just like smoking. Remember cigarette companies were getting sued for billions in the 90’s?
Lead only represent danger if you ingest them in fair quantities. I remember a couple of years ago, there was a huge scare for shooters being exposed to excess lead and I got scared too and start buying lead testing kits and get my blood checked for heavy metal etc. Everything turned out OK. But certainly keep those things out of reach for children because heavy metal accumulate in our bodies.
As for the shavings etc, it would have contained less lead than say a old piece of solder. So again I wouldn’t worry about it. If you ever take vitamin supplements, you are actually ingesting a heavy metal called Silelium, they recon very small amounts of such metal actually act as anti-oxidants to get rid of free radicals but funny enough, such metal is on prohibited import list!
Thanks everyone. Now I’m ready to get to work.
If you are still concerned about the toxicity of the material and possibly wind up with metal shavings in your skin, you might want to try wearing protective gloves on your hands. If your hands are to big for the gloves your spouse might buy to do household cleaning, talk to your garage (automobile) mechanic or try an auto parts store. I was able to buy a box of 50 (one time use) extra large, ambidextrous, latex glovesfor about $15.00 from a Snap-on Tool truck driver when he visited my mechanic while I was there also. By the way, you should also wear eye protection when you do this frame cutting since you never know which way the shavings might fly.
I have to agree with the other posters here. The state of California is known to the state of California to cause cancer, along with just about every other substance known to man, and a few unknown to man. But on a serious note: Just drilling a hole or doing a little grinding is not going to accumulate enough heavy metals or other toxic residue to cause anyone any harm. IF you are accumulating that much stuff then this is alot more than just a hobby to you.
IGNORE MOST OF THE ABOVE REPLIES!! THIS STUFF IS VERY DANGEROUS!![xx(]
DO WEAR EYE PROTECTION, A FACE SHIELD OVER GOGGLES OVER YOUR READING GLASSES IS THE PREFERRED METHOD.
WEAR PROTECTIVE GLOVES, LATEX COVERED WITH KEVLAR COVERED WITH WELDERS GLOVES.
CAREFULLY COLLECT ALL SHAVINGS, FILINGS, CUT-OFFS AND ANY OTHER LEFT OVER MATERIAL, AND SEND IT TO:
DEPARTMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTE
#1 STATE BOULEVARD
SACREMENTO, CA 001001
ATTN:
THE GOVENATOR
[:D]
On behalf of the many generations of my family who played with lead soldiers and all sorts of other lead toys, you are safe as long as you don’t eat it or inhale it. I inherited my uncle’s lead casting toy which could make soldiers, indians, or battleships, all about 2" high. I cast many lead car weights using an iron pot on a gas hot plate. I even helped my father seal joints in iron soil stack pipes by pounding lead wool into the crevace. (Lead wool is still handy for packing weight into irregular shaped locomotive cavities – if you can find it.)
We didn’t inhale the fumes or chew on the toys so my uncle is still bright as he approaches his 90th birthday and I can still figure out this computer.
Aside from the desperately poor who chew on lead paint for the sweetness, most people get their lead from industrial polluters of the atmosphere.
Even novelty candles are more dangerous than model railroad lead. Inported candles sometimes have a lead alloy wire in the wick to make the wick curl into the flame and consume itself. (The “smokeless wick” which was advertised when I was a kid but is taken for granted now.) Burning an array of cute imported candles in your house can expose your family as much or more than if you lived by a highway back when lead was in gasoline.
But do always wear eye protection when using tools. I’ve always worn glasses when model railroading and have damaged a number of lenses. I’d be out of luck if I damaged that many eyes!
P.S. Some early model manufacturers used antimony lead. That is lead with antimony added to make it stronger for use in automobile batteries. Antimony is quite posionous in its own right.
When superdetailing a lead a lead boiler from the 1940’s I had difficulty drilling small holes. I kept running into hard spots that grabbed the drill bit. Much later, when I was working on a Cary lead boil