Router dust disposal

Thread from IPC's ComplianceNet

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 14:30:17 –0500
Reply-To: "ComplianceNet E-Mail Forum." , Allen Keller
Sender: ComplianceNet Mail Forum
From: Allen Keller
Subject: Router dust disposal

I would like to know what other shops are doing with their router dust. All of our rout dust is separated from our drill dust but some of our rout dust contains dust from the scoring operation, some is just from routers. Currently, we ship all the rout dust as hazardous waste because a sample we took showed 4.9 ppm lead which is right at the maximum limit allowed of 5 ppm. We are thinking about taking other samples from both of our collection containers (one with just rout dust and the other with rout/scor dust) to see what the lead content currently is in each but are wondering if it would be worth the trouble just to see if we can get it reclassified as non-hazardous waste. Thanks for your response.

Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 12:54:47 -0700
Reply-To: "ComplianceNet E-Mail Forum." , "Sharp, John"
Sender: ComplianceNet Mail Forum
From: "Sharp, John"
Subject: Re: Router dust disposal
X-To: Allen Keller AllenK@PC-BOARDS.COM

Allen,

Because we plate a fair amount of gold, our router dust has some value for being reclaimed. We send it to Hallmark Refining (north of Seattle, WA) for gold reclaim. We pay about 0.75 $/lb for the processing and then the gold value is used to offset the processing cost. Sometimes we make money and sometimes we pay a little.

After the gold has been removed, the residues are sent to someone like ASARCO or NORANDA for further processing for lead and other metals. The utility of this process to you would be based on how much gold you plate (and then route through!)

John Sharp
Merix Corp., Forest Grove, OR
503-992-4351 Telephone
503-359-1040 FAX
john.sharp@merix.com