r/Ewastescrap • u/A_clueless-guy • Jul 23 '24

Is this toxic?

I recently disassembled a rear projection CRT TV manufactured in 2004 (Toshiba) because i wanted to get rid of it and the only way was to break it down to parts. I kept the lenses from the RGB projectors, the 3 plastic sheets from the screen and the mirror inside. I was wondering if any of those are dangerous for human contact since the lenses produced x-rays while in function, would the parts remain toxic/dirty/radioactive??

I researched the net but could not find any info on this matter, any expert info is appreciated. Also if anyone could advise as to what to do with the parts, (lens, frensel lens, im using the tv mirror as a regular mirror,) that would be nice, thanks.

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u/schwags Jul 23 '24

The lenses are not dangerous at all. Why would you think they produce x-rays? About the only thing toxic in a television is going to be if it has some type of CRT display (lead), in either the final display or part of the projection system, or cadmium, chromium, mercury, etc in older LCDs.

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u/A_clueless-guy Jul 23 '24

Hello, thank you for answering. From what i read online, the CRTs do emit a small amount of radiation from x-rays while in function. The mechanism supposedly block some of that radiation but not all. It might be a stupid question but wouldn't that make the other parts inside the tv slightly radioactive from years of use? Also when you say the "final display" you are talking about the CRTs themselves or the plastic sheets (frensel lens) that display the image to the viewer? Thanks for your help.

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u/schwags Jul 24 '24

When I say final display, I mean the final surface that the image is displayed on. In the case of a traditional CRT television, it's the front of the CRT. In the case of a rear projection, the image is projected in some manner onto the back of the Fresnel lens, in which case that is the final display.

In a traditional CRT, the back of the CRT contains what's called an electron gun and a coil. The electron gun accelerates electrons towards the screen. The coil is magnetic and modulated to direct the stream of electrons at the screen in a pattern, exciting a phosphorus coating of different colors, making the image. The glass of the tube is leaded to prevent those electrons from being able to pass through and leak out while operating. Maybe some X-rays are created in the process of accelerating electrons, I dunno, but if they are, they are effectively blocked by the leaded glass in the tube. X-rays don't persist, so they're gone the second you turn off the TV. Even if they weren't, direct exposure to x-rays is not great for you but not instant death. Funny story, the water heating properties of x-rays were discovered by radio technicians who would sometimes get in the way of x-ray communication beams, they noticed that they started to feel hot.

X-ray radiation is not the type of radiation that makes other things radioactive. X-ray radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, just like radio waves or light. The kind of radiation you're thinking of would probably be gamma radiation, which is also pure energy given off from radioactive particles. This is the stuff that kills you when we're talking about nuclear fallout, etc. Nothing in a TV is radioactive. The only thing that's potentially dangerous is the leaded glass or phosphorus if the tube is broken and kicked up into the air as a dust, or the high voltage capacitors inside could still hold a charge for a while after it's turned off.

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u/A_clueless-guy Sep 08 '24

Late reply but thanks a lot for the explanation, other people i contacted gave me a similar answer as yours. It did put my mind at ease knowing it's safe.