In this document we will discuss what Electro static discharge is and why it is

important
when working on a computer systems you should take precautions to prevent ESD.

Implementing Safety Measures and Procedures

ESD Precautions and Procedures
Danger Posed by ESD

Always perform PC preventive maintenance activities with a lot of care. Otherwise,

it can cause harm to you as well as the PC. Always be very careful with Electro-
Static Discharge (ESD).
ESD is most prevalent in dry, low humidity environments. It occurs when two
objects of dissimilar charge come in contact with each other such as your body and
a computer component. To equalize the electrostatic charge, the two objects
exchange electrons. The object with the higher charge, your body, passes voltage
to the object of lower charge, the electronic component. Though, a static charge
less than 3000 volts does not harm your body but it can damage the component.
However, ESD of 10 volts can damage computer components such as Complimentary
Metallic Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) chips because these chips contain a thin metal
oxide layer that is hypersensitive to ESD.

Dirt and dryness contribute to ESD. Dirt holds the charge, and dryness in the
atmosphere increases the ability of dirt to hold this charge.

ESD Protection Devices

ESD is a natural phenomenon so it cannot be eliminated. But, you can use various
ESD protection devices such as antistatic wrist strap, antistatic bags, ESD static
mats, and antistatic sprays to prevent damage to PC components.

Antistatic Wrist Strap: Or ESD strap is made of an insulated material with a wire
attached to it. Attach one end of the ESD strap to an earth ground that is the
ground pin on an extension cord and wrap the other end around your wrist. The
strap consists of a resistor that provides protection if the wire touches a
charged object.

Antistatic Bags: Are designed to collect static charges on the outside of the
bags rather than on the electronic components. These bags keep the dust and stray
charges away from the computer components when they are being shipped or stored

ESD Static Mats: Is also made of an insulated material and has two wires with
alligator clips, one at the end of each wire. Spread the mat on a flat surface
near the ground. Attach one clip to the ground and the other to the computer. This
ensures that the charge is transferred from the computer to the ground.
Antistatic Sprays: Are used on carpets to reduce ESD. Thus, they prevent the
damage to the computer components.

Apart from using these ESD protection devices, you can take the following
precautions to prevent damage posed by ESD to computer components:

Do not plug in or remove devices when the power is on

Store PC cards, chips, and other PC components in appropriate anti-static
containers such as envelopes and bags.
Have a reliable ground point so that you can connect your body to it with a wrist
strap.
Keep the carpets dust-free.
Wear shoes with rubber soles to get rid of static charge.
Do not wear clothes made of synthetic material because it is a conductor of
charge.
Do not wear jewelry because metals are conductors of electricity.
Maintain the relative humidity at around 50 percent.

Situations that could Present a Danger or Hazard

If you do not use ESD protection devices as per the guidelines, you can harm
yourself by getting a shock. Consider the following situations:

An ESD strap is specially designed to drain electric charges away and provide
safety to you. For this purpose, it uses 1-megaohm resistor to drain the charge
away. If, instead of using this safety device, you wrap a simple wire around your
wrist, you can get electrocuted.
An ESD strap can provide safety against low voltage. If you wear an antistatic
wrist strap when there is a possibility to encounter a high-voltage capacitor, the
strap could channel that voltage through your body. Such situation could be
working on the inside of a monitor or power supply.
Antistatic bags are not designed to drain the charges away. Do not use them in
place of antistatic mats to transfer static charge from the computer to the ground

PC Components posing potential hazard and safety procedures related to them are as
follows:

If you do not use ESD protection devices as per the guidelines, you can harm
yourself by getting a shock. Consider the following situations:
Lasers and high-voltage equipment: Lasers are high-intensity light rays that can
cause severe damage to human eyes, including blindness. Therefore, never look
directly into a laser beam of the laser printer. If the radiation of the laser
beam comes in direct contact with skin, it can cause severe burns or even death,
depending on the intensity. So, avoid direct contact with laser beams. The laser
beams used in printers and CD-ROM drives are of significantly low intensity but as
laser printers generate excessive heat, be careful when handling the inside of the
printer. To avoid the damage to parts of a laser printer, such as the EP
cartridge, do not touch them. Do not put any object into the feeding system when
the printer is running.

Lasers and high-voltage equipment: High-voltage equipment is extremely hazardous.

Carelessness while working with them can lead to shock, severe burns, or
electrocution. The potential damage due to mishandling of the equipment is written
on the warning or caution label that is stick to the equipment.
As a safety measure, read the documentation provided by the manufacturer before
you start working with high-voltage equipment. Ensure that you are properly
grounded to get rid of static charge and to prevent the equipment from any damage.

Power supply: The power outlet provides alternating current (AC) and the Power
Supply Unit (PSU) converts it into direct current (DC) to be used by your
computer. During conversion, a significant amount of heat is generated, which can
cause burns if you come in direct contact with it. If you try to open the PSU,
which contains capacitors that store electric charge, there is a risk of shock or
electrocution.
 Ensure that you switch off the main power when you are not using your computer.
Allow the PSU to cool before you start working on it

CRT monitors: A CRT monitor is high-voltage equipment. It contains capacitors that

store static charge for a long time even when the CRT is disconnected from the
mains. This static charge can be fatal.

As a safety measure, call a certified monitor technician, who can discharge the
monitor before examining, to repair the CRT.

Handle the monitor very carefully, as it is vacuum-sealed. If the glass breaks, it

might implode violently.

Keep your monitor switched off when not in use, even if your computer has energy
saving settings enabled.

Tip
To discharge a monitor, you need a flat screwdriver with a well-insulated handle
and a piece of metal wire. Tie one end of the wire to the metal part of the
screwdriver and the other end to the frame of the monitor. Touch the metal end of
the screwdriver under the anode boot of the monitor. A flash and a loud popping
sound indicate that the monitor has been discharged. Remove the residual charge by
repeating this procedure.

Note
Discharging a monitor is not recommended to be performed unless you are a
qualified technician.

Created by BobbyR1234 uploaded on scribd on 3/9/08