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Medical Forum / General / General / March 2006

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Recordable Azo CDs & DVDs Dangerous?

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Kyle - 06 Mar 2006 20:55 GMT
I noticed some "long-life" recordable CDs &DVDs are made with azo dyes. Azo
compounds contain the N=N double bond. I looked up azo compounds on the
internet and found that many of them are considered toxic or carcinogenic.
My question is whether these recordable disks are a potential health hazard
to the owner, and is it possible to be exposed to the azo dyes by normal
use?
Dan - 06 Mar 2006 21:55 GMT
I don't know, but azo dyes were used in clothing for a while if I
remember correctly so I doubt that these compounds are that high a
risk, also the amounts used in the disks and their volatility etc.
would expose the user to only a few ppm, if that....

I dare say it's been thoroughly tested, I wouldnt' worry, but an
interesting thought.
rekuci@gmail.com - 06 Mar 2006 22:29 GMT
> I noticed some "long-life" recordable CDs &DVDs are made with azo dyes. Azo
> compounds contain the N=N double bond. I looked up azo compounds on the
> internet and found that many of them are considered toxic or carcinogenic.
> My question is whether these recordable disks are a potential health hazard
> to the owner, and is it possible to be exposed to the azo dyes by normal
> use?

It's hard to find out exactly what the manufacturer's are using
(proprietary blah blah), but they are called "metal azo" dyes.  They
are probably complex aromatic molecules with side groups containing N=N
bonds, and the whole thing is probably coordinated with a metal ion,
which gives conductivity and the distinct color.  I doubt there's any
health hazard, since they should be present in extremely small
quantity, and it sounds like the carcinogenicity of azides is due to
their biological metabolism to aromatic amines.  There are several
polymeric layers protecting the azo recording dye, and this is a
different situation then when you're using bulk quantities of dye (the
ones used for clothings are much simpler, less stable molecules -
aromaticity imparts stability, but I bet the N=N bond still suffers
badly on any significant exposure to UV).

I noticed another dye used are phthalocyanines...I work with metal
phthalocyanines, and this whole class of molecules (ferrocenes) are
basically nontoxic, although I wouldn't try eating them.  They're the
same basic metal-coordinated heme structure found in chlorophyll and at
the center of hemoglobin.
Henry Boyter - 07 Mar 2006 21:46 GMT
The azo dyes you refer to have not been used in most
countries for many years.  The majority of dyes used today
are still azo dyes.  The bad ones were a small minority.
Those used today have little toxicity and are not carcinogenic.
As someone else said, there will also be very little in this application.
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Henry Boyter, Jr., PhD
Director of EH&S Services
Institute of Textile Technology (ITT)
http://www.itt.edu/staff/boyter/links/index.html

The opinions expressed are those of Dr. Boyter
and are not necessarily those of ITT.  The opinions
of  Dr. Boyter are provided for informational
purposes only and should not be used as advice.
No warranty or expression of professionalism is implied.

"Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied,--
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

>I noticed some "long-life" recordable CDs &DVDs are made with azo dyes. Azo
>compounds contain the N=N double bond. I looked up azo compounds on the
>internet and found that many of them are considered toxic or carcinogenic.
>My question is whether these recordable disks are a potential health hazard
>to the owner, and is it possible to be exposed to the azo dyes by normal
>use?
 
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