Airbag disposal

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spigven
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Airbag disposal

Post by spigven »

Any ideas on how I can safely dispose of a live steering wheel airbag ?

I also have some seats with live pretensioners to scrap, the guy at the local tip says just put them in the metal skip, doesnt sound right.

Rang the local council and they say nobody has ever asked the question but the answer is they can't help.

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Post by addo »

Fire 'em off. :twisted: Just hit the terminals with 12V, albeit over a safe length of speaker wire.
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Post by CitroJim »

Citroen do a special service kit to disarm them by setting them off. You connect the machine, retire to a safe distance and then push the plunger..

KABOOM!

You might be able to make one up, given you have a long enough garden or convenient field, by connecting a 12v battery to it momentarily by way of some very long leads. It'll then be safe to dispose of as normal rubbish. I'd not do this in a typical urban setting though

I'd be reluctant to just throw them in the tip whilst they remain armed. It might give a poor unsuspecting Totter a bit of a shock :lol:

Either go to a local, friendly garage and ask what they recommend or take it and the pre-tensioners to your local scrappy for them to dispose of.
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Post by CitroJim »

Sorry Adam, you an I were typing at the same time :wink:
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Post by addo »

It seems so, Jim. My response perhaps echoed more of the "Wide open spaces" mindset... :lol:

There are a stack of Youtube videos showing Seppos being silly with airbags. Be prepared to laugh at their stupidity - especially the guy who sits a chair on one, then detonates to cause a direct hit on his tackle!

Despite the humour, it will give an idea of the destructive power and thus a need for safe practice when firing off.

Cheers, Adam.
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Post by spigven »

Well the local council were no use, apparently they have never been asked the question before.

I got rid of it by means of a favour by a local car dismantlers who said they would detonate it.

One other thing I've discovered (although how accurate it is I'm not sure) is that once detonated the airbag is then toxic.

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Post by CitroJim »

Depends on the chemicals used to generate the gas used to inflate the bag.

It may be as there could be small amounts of NaOH (Caustic Soda) present.

This from Wikipedia
Newer designs produce effluent primarily consisting of harmless talcum powder/cornstarch and nitrogen gas (about 80% of the air we breathe is nitrogen). In older designs using an azide-based propellant (usually NaN3), varying amounts of sodium hydroxide nearly always are initially present. In small amounts this chemical can cause minor irritation to the eyes and/or open wounds; however, with exposure to air, it quickly turns into sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). However, this transformation is not 100% complete, and invariably leaves residual amounts of hydroxide ion from NaOH. Depending on the type of airbag system, potassium chloride (a table salt substitute) may also be present.
I'd say the risk was pretty small and more of an irritant than outright toxic.
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Post by Xaccers »

I'd heard (from top gear when it was worth watching, or 5th gear, I forget which) that airbags are toxic until they are detonated and the chemicals involved have reacted.
The pre-detonated chemicals are also water soluable which is why they need to be disposed of properly.
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Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

if the chemicals are water soluble won't sticking it in a bucket of water over night disarm it and make it useless?

it all sounds like pirotechnic fun to me.

regards Nigel.
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Post by Xaccers »

I would imagine they're sealed inside, so you'd have to split the bag open.
You'd then have the problem of how to dispose of the toxic water.
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Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

ahh thats easy pour it into a dish and feed it slowly over time to that damm dog in your neighbourhood that just wont stop barking.
it will help to return the enviroment to its nice peaceful state.

regards nigel.
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Post by addo »

Teach the dog to "catch" sticks and balls.

Then have it catch an airbag module with nice long lead wires...
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Post by falling-out-with-my-car »

Nice to see someone else has a sense of humour.


regards Nigel.
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Post by xmexclusive »

Just a word of warning.
Do not follow the Haynes guidelines on teaching the dog to catch balls.

John
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Post by Deanxm »

Im sorry but the child in me has to say that to get rid of an airbag the best way, by far, has to be to detonate it, if you have the space you just have to, from a safe distance obviously :lol: :roll:


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