Do S-Video Cables Cause Cancer?

[post_ad]

Depending on wherever you reside, you will receive a health warning once getting some hardware elements on-line for your pc. is that this one thing you must be disquieted regarding or not? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post discusses one such incident to assist answer a curious reader’s question.

The Question

SuperUser reader Shawn Eary wants to know if S-Video cables cause cancer:

I was ordering elements from a web distributer and received a warning stating that a number of the merchandise were glorious (by the state of California) to cause cancer.

Unsure that product had triggered the warning, I referred to as the distributer on the phone. consistent with them, it absolutely was the S-Video cable. sure as shooting, the warning went away after I removed the S-Video cable from the cart.

Then i attempted adding many different S-Video cables from completely different firms. All of the S-Video cables I picked looked as if it would trigger the cancer warning.

Is there one thing in most S-Video cables that causes cancer?

The Answer

SuperUser contributors Zeiss Ikon and Alex Atkinson have the answer for us. First up, Zeiss Ikon:

Solder that contains lead is the most likely source of the “known to cause cancer or other reproductive harm” warning. Electronics assembled in Europe or for sale in the European Union are made with lead-free solder by law, but in the United States and most of Asia, the cheaper and easier to use tin-lead solders still rule. Do not eat the connectors, wash your hands after handling if the insulating plastic is broken, and you will be fine.

By the way, it is not just S-Video cables. You should find this warning for any product with solder in it that is not made for European Union compliance.

Followed by the answer from Alex Atkinson:

The state of California has much stricter laws on potential carcinogens than the rest of the United States. The warning just means that there are some chemicals in the product that may cause cancer in some specific situations. You would likely have to eat the thing.