ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFER ZINC-CADMIUM ALLOY DRY PLATING AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR CADMIUM ELECTROPLATING

CADMIUM ELECTROPLATING IN CYANIDE BATHS IS OF SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN. AS A CONSEQUENCE, A UNIQUE DRY PLATING CONCEPT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED. UNLIKE CONVENTIONAL ELECTROPLATING, THIS METHOD WOULD USE NO LIQUID CHEMICALS. THE DRY PLATING CONCEPT UTILIZES A NOVEL VAPOR DEPOSITION TECHNIQUE FOR CADMIUM OR ZINC. TO MINIMIZE OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS OF TOXIC CADMIUM, AND TO ACCOMPLISH IN SITU CADMIUM MANAGEMENT, A RECLAIM METHOD WAS ALSO DEVELOPED. THE USE OF CADMIUM IN DRY PLATING COULD BE FURTHER REDUCED BY SUBSTITUTING A ZINC-CADMIUM ALLOY FOR CADMIUM. THE AIMS OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IN THE PHASE I ARE (1) TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEPOSITING ZINC-CADMIUM ALLOY OF THE DESIRED COMPOSITION USING THE DRY PLATING TECHNIQUE AND (2) TO MEASURE THE LEVEL OF CADMIUM DUST RELEASE IN THE ENVIRONMENT, IF ANY. IF THIS RESEARCH INDICATES ACCEPTABLE RESULTS ACCORDING TO THE CURRENT STANDARDS, FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE TECHNIQUE WOULD LEAD TO A METHOD WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS OF CADMIUM ELECTROPLATING.