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Letter 2654
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My applause Ted. I have worked in the metal finishing field as an engineer for over 18 years. I deal with the safety, environmental and operating aspects of different metal finishing processes, including anodizing. The first and foremost concern are the chemical hazards to the operators. Wearing the proper safety equipment is only half the story. The other half is having other people trained to help in an emergency. The solution of sulfuric acid mixed in water is no different than battery acid, one drop in your eye and you are blind. Just mixing the water in the acid can cause it to blow up in your face.
As Ted suggests leave these chemical processes to the professionals who can give you the results you expect in a safe way. This will allow you to continue with your hobby for many years to come.
Keep up the good work Tim!
Brian DeLucenay
- Van Wert, Ohio
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+ I disagree. Unless you have absolutely no education whatsoever, and didn't read into the process before commencing it, anodizing isn't that hard. There are hazards, but once you protect yourself from spills, contain the sulphuric acid solution in a sealed box with an adequate fume hood, anodizing isn't hard at all, especially for hobby uses. Dmitri Artamonov
+++ Actually I shot battery acid in my left eye when I was 12. I poked it with a nail to find out what was inside. It shot into my eye and then fell into a puddle spewing its contents throughout. My dog then drank from the puddle. I didn't go blind, neither did my dog. Tim Mulligan
+++ You're a stand-up guy, Tim, but keep your day job anyway :-)
++++ I've done a couple batches at home from several of the home anodizing suppliers and it is safe. Read the instructions and there will not be problems. My father had a battery blow up in his face because he was smoking while working on his car - battery discharging while he was working on it and he suffered no long lasting problems and yes he got it in his eyes. Russ W Ed. note: If you consider lead-acid batteries exploding in your face safe because your father survived it, then I can understand why you have no safety concerns about anodizing, Russ. But many would not agree with you that exploding batteries are no problem :-) |
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I have been anodizing parts in small quantity for quite a while now, and I have found that unless you ignore all of the safety tips, you can do it without mishap. And on the issue of hazardous materials, I found that for a small fee, my local landfill would take any of my waste and dispose of it properly.
Abe Hager
- Olympia, Washington
Again, there is room for multiple opinions on what is relatively safe and environmentally responsible, Abe. But as operator of this site I feel the continuing obligation to respond and remind people that they really do need to see the EPA's stand on this issue in the Code of Federal Regulations at 40CFR433 (which is available in most libraries and on line).
I see no way of interpreting it but that if you sell any product that you have anodized, or you sell an anodizing service, then the full weight of all federal compliance regulations and reporting regulations fall upon you. The waste is then categorically hazardous waste regardless of how innocuous you or the landfill operator may feel it is--in other words, because it came from an anodizing shop, it is 'categorically' hazardous waste no matter what characteristics you measure. If the landfill operator knows that the waste is from an anodizing shop he would be committing a federal crime putting categorically hazardous material into a general landfill.
Yes, the chance of getting into trouble for operating a pint-size beaker in your garage is very small. But there is a temptation to grow, and the number of people jailed or losing their house and life to fines for operating their garage as a plating shop is not small. A plating shop in a garage attached to an owner's house in York, PA eventually landed the owner in the penitentiary when he had to choose between legal disposal and losing his family's home; a chromium plating operation in a two-car garage in Odessa, TX is a Superfund site which has cost a million dollars and counting just in legal fees.
You are welcome to say to yourself that this is silly and alarmist, but please read the law I referred you to and decide for yourself.
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+++++++ Well I hope someone can help me out. I have a paintball
gun not sure exactly what they are made from would like some
input on that part but I want to anodize it another color
and want to know what's the best way to do that. Joe Tannahill
+++++++ Being a regulatory compliance guy (I have my own business
in product regulatory compliance) and someone who has done
"home anodizing", I can also vouch for it being safe as long
as you educate yourself prior to attempting it, and use some
common (uncommon?) sense. Garry Hojan |
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 Aluminum How-To, Robert Probert  Water and Waste Control for the Plating Shop, Kushner & Kushner  Surface Finishing and Treatment of Aluminum and its Alloys, Wernick, Pinner & Sheasby
More anodizing books: Artists Anodizing Aluminum: the Sulfuric Acid Process [link is to info about book on Amazon], "The Technology of Anodizing Aluminum" [link is to info at Amazon about the book] |
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