CRT Implosion Risk?
Also see the section: “Disposing of dead TVs or monitors (CRTs and charged HV capacitors)”. (From: Jeroen Stessen (Jeroen.Stessen@ehv.ce.philips.com)). I have checked with our CRT expert and he thinks that any ‘normal’ type of scratch does not pose any danger. Usual disclaimer applies … (what is ‘normal’?) The front of the tube is much thicker and stronger than the rear. It has to be, to withstand the air pressure, because the curvature radius is so much larger. You won’t break it by throwing a slipper at it. The neck is in fact very easy to break, usually without causing injuries to anyone. Normally, if the tube should implode, the rimband (the tensioned steel band around the rim of all modern CRTs of any size) prevents the glass from flying outward too far. Every tube type has to pass tests in which it is deliberately imploded and it is checked whether any large shrapnel flies too far out. What *is* very dangerous is a CRT with its rimband missing, or a CRT which never had a decent
. BTW, scratches in the CRT have absolutely no effect on X-ray emission. X-rays are blocked long before they come anywhere near the surface and glass has very little effect on their direction. Any scratch deep enough to have any detectable effect on X-ray emission (actually, it would need to be an inch deep gouge) would have caused the tube to implode.
