Outdoor & Yard / Products / Data Destruction Chemical and Physical Methods (Degaussing, Shredding Dust, Chemical Destruction — Occupational Exposure)

Data Destruction Chemical and Physical Methods (Degaussing, Shredding Dust, Chemical Destruction — Occupational Exposure) — outdoor safety profile

Moderate risk

Not medical, veterinary, or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified professional — consult one. Full disclaimer →

Data destruction services process millions of hard drives, SSDs, and storage media annually — the US data destruction market reached $5.4 billion in 2023.

What is this product?

Data destruction services process millions of hard drives, SSDs, and storage media annually — the US data destruction market reached $5.4 billion in 2023. Physical shredding of hard drives generates metallic dust containing aluminum, neodymium (rare earth magnets), cobalt (platter magnetic coating), and trace amounts of lead solder — particles 1-100 microns, respirable. OSHA PEL for aluminum dust: 15 mg/m3 total, 5 mg/m3 respirable. Industrial hard drive shredders process 500-2000 drives/hour, generating significant dust loads. Degaussing (magnetic erasure) uses strong magnetic fields (7,000-20,000 Gauss) — no chemical hazard but does not physically destroy media. Chemical data destruction methods (used for SSDs where degaussing is ineffective) include acid dissolution and incineration. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1 defines three levels: Clear, Purge, and Destroy. SSD destruction is more complex than HDD — standard shredding may leave recoverable NAND flash chips if particle size exceeds 2mm.

What's in it

Click any compound name for its full safety profile, regulatory consensus, and exposure data.

Platter Coating

Solder

Platter Substrate

Frequently asked questions

No FAQs generated.

Sources (9)

Citations carried on this product's ALETHEIA record. A bracketed number in the text links to its entry here.

  1. ALETHEIA Safety Database — expert_curation
  2. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1 + OSHA Metal Dust Exposure Limits (NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1 (2014); 29 CFR 1910.1000 Table Z-1 (PELs)) (2014) · USA — regulation
  3. IARC Monographs Volume 86: Cobalt in Hard Metals and Cobalt Sulfate, Gallium Arsenide, Indium Phosphide and Vanadium Pentoxide (2006) — regulatory (inherited from a compound record)
  4. ATSDR Toxicological Profile for Cobalt (2004) — report (inherited from a compound record)
  5. CDC - Lead Poisoning Prevention — cdc (inherited from a compound record)
  6. WHO - Lead Poisoning Fact Sheet (2024) — who (inherited from a compound record)
  7. ATSDR: Toxicological Profile for Manganese — Manganism, Occupational Exposure, Drinking Water Health Advisory, Neurological Endpoints, and Welding Fume Context (2012) — regulatory (inherited from a compound record)
  8. US EPA IRIS: Manganese — Reference Dose, Inhalation Reference Concentration, Neurotoxicity Profile, and Drinking Water Health Advisory (0.3 mg/L, 0.1 mg/L chronic) (2010) — regulatory (inherited from a compound record)
  9. US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) · USA — regulatory

Look up Data Destruction Chemical and Physical Methods (Degaussing, Shredding Dust, Chemical Destruction — Occupational Exposure) in the outdoor app

Search by ingredient, browse by category, or compare to alternatives in the live app.

Open in outdoor View raw API data

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific information. Why we built ALETHEIA →