At 12:45 PM 1/16/2009, Lux, James P wrote... >More realistically, the dangeris dust when something is physically >overstressed (dropped, mounting overtightened, thermal shock). That, >and if it gets ground up in trash disposal... Say someone throws it in >the shredder.
So, if some electronics have an IC with a BeO package, and it sits undisturbed, what's the problem? It seems to me that most, if not all, such uses would be additionally contained by heatsinks and compound, since it's the thermal conductivity properties which caused it to be used in the first place. Hard to say how much dust might be produced by dropping or overtightening. In my experience, ceramics tend to break pretty cleanly. Maybe BeO is different. Granted, the manufacturer can be expected to be biased, but Brush Ceramics claims "Beryllium oxide (BeO), in solid form and as contained in finished products, presents no special health risks." They also claim "Under federal regulations and most state regulations, BeO ceramic or products containing BeO ceramics that are no longer recyclable and declared solid wastes are not classified as hazardous waste due the content of BeO ceramic." _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.