Is the radiation from electronics factories dangerous?

Now we live in a society of electronic products. Various electronic products are everywhere in our lives and have a great impact on our lives. Therefore, many people work in electronics factories. The electronic components of electronic products generally have a certain amount of radiation to the human body. Long-term exposure to electronic products can cause some poisoning in the human body, causing diseases such as cancer, miscarriage, premature aging and anemia.

Is radiation from electronics factories dangerous?

The nature and hazards of electronics factories are different, and the hazards in different workshops in a factory are also different! Some factories are harmless, some are! Those who need to wear anti-radiation clothing are in danger, and it’s very serious! There are also products such as PCB circuit boards, gold-plated, silver-plated and other heavy metal products, display screens, electronic components...all of them are harmful, but the degree of harm is different.

Common occupational hazards in the electronics industry

1. Chemical Hazards There are hundreds of chemicals currently used in the electronics industry, each of which has different hazards to the human body. The main invasion routes are skin penetration and respiratory inhalation. Electronics factories often use certain toxic and harmful solvents as cleaning agents, such as board cleaning water, the main ingredient of which is trichloroethylene. Trichloroethylene can damage liver function and cause symptoms similar to hepatitis. Some patients of trichloroethylene poisoning died because they were misdiagnosed with liver disease and failed to receive the right medicine. Thinner is also commonly used and usually contains benzene and toluene. Benzene is a highly toxic chemical and is highly carcinogenic. Patients with chronic benzene poisoning often suffer from aplastic anemia and leukemia. Toluene can also cause acute or chronic poisoning. In addition to solvents, various heavy metals are also very harmful to the human body. Moreover, since heavy metals accumulate in the human body and are not easily excreted, they will have long-term impacts on health, or even lifelong consequences. In electronics factories, these heavy metals (compounds) mostly exist in the form of dust or smoke. If workers inhale them for a long time, they will suffer from poisoning or excessive levels of chemicals in their bodies.

2. Radiation Common ionizing radiations in the electronics industry include: X-rays (commonly used in the manufacture of circuit boards and testing circuit errors) and radioactive isotopes (commonly used to test whether there is air in sealed parts). The consequences of exposure to excessive ionizing radiation include: cancer, miscarriage, congenital defects, premature aging, and anemia. Common non-ionizing radiation includes: radio waves (often generated in processes such as plasticizing, bonding, welding, and epoxy curing), microwaves, infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, lasers, etc. Among them, microwaves, ultraviolet rays and lasers are the most dangerous non-ionizing radiation. Medical research shows that workers exposed to excessive microwaves may suffer from heart, thyroid and nervous system problems.

3. Noise and other harmful factors The noise in an electronics factory mainly comes from metal crushers, cutting instruments, grinding and packaging machines, etc. Excessively loud or harsh noises can cause stress to the human body and even lead to permanent hearing loss. In addition, the impact of high temperature, dust, psychological stress of assembly line operations, visual fatigue in the ultra-micro industry, and continuous poor operating posture on workers' health cannot be ignored.