Is it safe ?

[Sandy G]

Well, I AM a Big Boy, & I WAS pretty strong at one time-I remember picking up a 289 short block & moving it around w/not TOO much difficulty... But I was 18-19 then. I had a stroke about 10 yrs ago, & about a year or 2 B4 that, fell down-Pulled down, actually, my back steps by an exuberant Dobermann, & boogered up my rt knee but good...Tore the meniscus & quadricept. Sorta ended my "Heavy Lifting" days right there.. Never have been able to walk easy since then. Running ? Fuggeddaboutit.

[Kamakiri]

I never worried about lead, but the asbestos sheets that line cabinets such as my 9T246 have raised an eyebrow every time I've worked on it....

[Jeffhs]

In some Zenith table radios of the '50s-'60s, there was a small block of asbestos mounted to the inside top of the cabinet (my C845, and probably my K731 as well, each have such a block mounted somewhere above the chassis). I don't remember why this asbestos block was in the cabinet in the first place, but I do remember seeing warnings here on VK against handling it due to the dust hazard. (Asbestos was also used as insulating material in devices such as roasters that operated at high temperatures.) Breathing asbestos dust is very harmful (as has been noted here by others), as the stuff can and will get into your lungs, possibly causing cancer. This is probably, even likely, why asbestos is rarely (if ever) used in appliances today.

[Nuke]

I used to wonder about what looks like asbestos surrounding the coil wire in some field coil speakers. Wouldn't the speaker vibration loosen microscopic particles into the air? I think the bakelite Admiral TVs have speakers like that. Then again, before 1985, asbestos was put in alot of things including hair dryers. Maybe if the owners of sets like these wound up in nursing homes at 95 years of age - you'd be OK. If you are worried about such things, an easy solution is a PM speaker and a power resister setup. Just don't dig into the field coil.

[toxcrusadr]

I'll talk about lead first because that's what the thread was about.

Glass is a very stable substance and lead will certainly not come out of it to any appreciable extent while just sitting there. As mentioned above, lead crystal is still used for glassware.

The TCLP test is valid only with respect to putting the material in question into a landfill. The leachate the sample is soaked in is sort of a synthetic landfill leachate, with an acid pH. The result of the test tells little to nothing in terms of toxic risk from having the material in your house.

I don't know where mercury would show up in a CRT TV, certainly not in the glass, it's far too volatile unless salts were added to the glass...but why? I just don't know of any mercury in CRT TVs.

As for cloth wire insulation, much of it was cotton, but if you're concerned, I think you can seal it with something. I'm thinking a silicone based waterproofer like Thompson's Water Seal. I think I read that somewhere on a radio forum back in the day. But I haven't messed with any of mine, I just leave them alone. Unless you're breathing large amounts all day long, the risk is small. A radio, I wouldn't worry about.

Jeff, I've seen the 'block' of asbestos I think you're referring to, it's usually a sheet on the inside of the cabinet wherever heat given off by the tubes may damage the finish or overheat the cabinet. Such as over the power tubes. I've seen a foil/asbestos sandwich too. It could be replaced with something else, but I usually just leave it.