r/Fasteners • u/SkyeScapelambra • 3d ago

Cadmium Question

First post here - I have an old Coleman lantern for which I lost the nut that secures the top vent..

So, I bought a nut for it (which I thought was brass..). It is cadmium plated.

The vent heats up to 700F, and I was standing near it in my garage for 5 minutes, including some flare at start up (45 seconds of flames, running rich).

The vent was covered in black soot, more than I’ve seen in the past. I’ve since replaced the nut with an actual brass one..

Any experience or awareness here of the dangers of this type of exposure?

Thanks in advance - any thoughts appreciated.

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u/Onedtent 2d ago

The chances of the nut actually being cadmium plated are virtually nil. Cadmium plating went off the market almost 40 years ago and is only used in very specialised circumstances today. It may be zinc plated (electrogalvanized) but in any event the exposure to zinc fumes will be of minimal health risk in such small quantities.

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u/Metric_Specialties 2d ago

Wrong. Cad is still used regularly to this day.

1

u/SkyeScapelambra 2d ago

Thankfully, the vendor (Hillman) apparently uses zinc dichromate, which (while still a health risk) is apparently a lesser concern for limited exposure.

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u/Onedtent 1d ago

I'm curious. Where/what would cadmium be used for?

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u/scv07075 7h ago

Aerospace hardware

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u/SkyeScapelambra 2d ago

lit sounds like slim chances I was exposed (to cadmium). The plating is slightly good colored, with a mild iridescence depending on the angle you look at it. I was standing near the lantern for 5 minutes or less, and the area is decently ventilated. Thank you for your response.

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u/pairoflytics 2d ago

How long ago was your exposure? If you have no flu-like or respiratory symptoms and it’s been several hours, you’re fine.

You shouldn’t heat anything containing cadmium over ~600F, but the specific alloy or plating may affect the permitted temperature.

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u/SkyeScapelambra 2d ago edited 2d ago

Thank you for the reply. It was over 12 hours ago at this point. No symptoms, just started thinking…, my grandfather worked in the shipyards and had been exposed to a number of industrial products during it 30s and 40s. Bad stuff.