Alcohol Based Hand Sanitizers in Electronics Manufacturing

[Icy Mountain]

Concerns over H1N1 flu and other issues have generated a request for hand sanitizer dispensers in our electronics production area. We have slide lines where electronic components are inserted into printed circuit boards by hand and then pushed to the next assembly station. Obviously, someone who is infected could potentially infect the entire line. Also obviously, anything that is used to clean hands on the line is going to end up on the components and circuit boards.

Alcohol based hand sanitizers generally contain 70% alcohol and 30% other. The "other" usually contains emollients (oils and other stuff to keep the skin from drying out). I have not been able to find any "electronics grade" hand sanitizers, any information about the possible contamination of electronics by hand sanitizer, nor any anecdotal horror stories of somebody's electronics assembly process going into the toilet due to the introduction of Purell bottles.

Any thoughts?

 

[Jen Kirley]

(broken link removed) is said to be alcohol free, and effective.

I would review the chemical information via MSDS or ask the manufacturers if they have certified electronics safe products.

 

[Jim Wynne]

(broken link removed) is said to be alcohol free, and effective.

I would review the chemical information via MSDS or ask the manufacturers if they have certified electronics safe products.

Alcohol per se isn't necessarily a bad thing; I would think that if operators are currently handling boards with bare hands and their natural skin oils and other "acquired" potential contaminants aren't affecting solderability that it's not likely that a reasonably applied disinfectant will. I think it's a good idea to have people who handle boards (before and after soldering) wear gloves in any case.

 

[GStough]

Alcohol per se isn't necessarily a bad thing; I would think that if operators are currently handling boards with bare hands and their natural skin oils and other "acquired" potential contaminants aren't affecting solderability that it's not likely that a reasonably applied disinfectant will. I think it's a good idea to have people who handle boards (before and after soldering) wear gloves in any case.

...And I know a company that makes just such a product...

 

[Qualqueen]

I think it's a good idea to have people who handle boards (before and after soldering) wear gloves in any case.

Good point Jim. Quite a few years ago I did soldering of electronic boards and gloves were mandatory.

 

[Alexisss]

I agree on the rest with gloves: there are gloves suitable for electronics available! Therefore your people may wash their hands and then don the gloves.
After they undon the gloves, they may use the disinfectant again

Do remember to establish a procedure of: a) educating how to don/undon properly to avoid possible contamination, and on how to was the hands, and b) how to handle the possibly contaminated bin that contains the used gloves (may be I am getting too precautius, but if they care for H1N1 left on hands before starting work, then you may also care for the contaminated waste bin)

a

 

[SteelMaiden]

Actually, the alcohol is/should be more of a plus, shouldn't it? It would help to dry the cleaner so you wouldn't be picking up even more contaminants. (although you should be careful around heat sources, as my oldest found out in chem class when he nearly started the lab on fire last week)

 

[Ajit Basrur]

Concerns over H1N1 flu and other issues have generated a request for hand sanitizer dispensers in our electronics production area. We have slide lines where electronic components are inserted into printed circuit boards by hand and then pushed to the next assembly station. Obviously, someone who is infected could potentially infect the entire line. Also obviously, anything that is used to clean hands on the line is going to end up on the components and circuit boards.

Alcohol based hand sanitizers generally contain 70% alcohol and 30% other. The "other" usually contains emollients (oils and other stuff to keep the skin from drying out). I have not been able to find any "electronics grade" hand sanitizers, any information about the possible contamination of electronics by hand sanitizer, nor any anecdotal horror stories of somebody's electronics assembly process going into the toilet due to the introduction of Purell bottles.

Any thoughts?

I thought 70 % alochol should be fine as it contains 70 % alcohol and 30 % water and dries pretty fast. This is a very good hand sanitizer.

 

[Icy Mountain]

Alcohol per se isn't necessarily a bad thing; I would think that if operators are currently handling boards with bare hands and their natural skin oils and other "acquired" potential contaminants aren't affecting solderability that it's not likely that a reasonably applied disinfectant will. I think it's a good idea to have people who handle boards (before and after soldering) wear gloves in any case.

We don't use gloves now and don't have any issues...after some training to use only the approved hand lotions. The wrong kind of gloves can make things worse. We do not want assemblers to be electrically isolated from the boards to allow the ESD mitigation equipment to work properly. That said, my assemblers just plain don't like to wear gloves as it makes manipulating tiny parts more difficult.

...And I know a company that makes just such a product...

Plug away! I'm looking for advice. Edit: removed link by request[/URL]

Actually, the alcohol is/should be more of a plus, shouldn't it?

I'm not worried about alcohol. We use the 99% pure Isopropyl Alcohol in the automatic finger cleaner in our wave solder machine to prevent flux build up on the conveyor. We use it to remove conformal coating when rework is required (reapplying the conformal coat afterwards, of course). We use it clean the solder paste residues from surface mount stencils.

What I am worried about is what is left behind after the 70% alcohol in the sanitizer evaporates away.

 

[Ajit Basrur]

I thought 70 % alochol should be fine as it contains 70 % alcohol and 30 % water and dries pretty fast. For water to be used as a diluent, I would recommend use of DEIONIZED WATER - this is quite compatible for electronics industry.