fingers in the soup..

[semilog]

As Tom says, pyro is bad stuff. Toners and associated chemistry range from requires-care to downright dangerous, bad juju, stay the hell away unless you know how to protect yourself. Always start with the MSDS sheets for each component. You can generally find these on the internet. Take them seriously.

I've seen some very bad practices in various darkrooms over the years.

 

[sepiareverb]

I've seen some very bad practices in various darkrooms over the years.

Yep. I worked in a commercial darkroom in NYC in the mid eighties where all three of us in the B&W darkroom smoked while printing. One guy was a real master at the "hot straight developer rubbed into the print barehanded" method of burning in. He wasn't always unsuccessful at the "drag on the cigarette real close to the paper" method of burning in either. We were paid after the boss saw how much paper we'd used- and docked if we "wasted" paper.

 

[Melvin]

Yes, dry chems are the worst. I always wear a dust mask when mixing them.

 

[semilog]

You guys and gals might love this series of articles. I know I do. Reminds me of college, when I lived in a house full of chemists.

 

[Freakscene]

As Tom says, pyro is bad stuff.

Hydroquinone is as toxic as pyro, but no-one is as paranoid about D76 powder as they are about pyro. As you say below, get the MSDS, work out the real risk and use appropriate controls to prevent exposure. Gloves are a good start.

Toners and associated chemistry range from requires-care to downright dangerous, bad juju, stay the hell away unless you know how to protect yourself. Always start with the MSDS sheets for each component. You can generally find these on the internet. Take them seriously.

Absolutely. 100%

I've seen some very bad practices in various darkrooms over the years.

Darkrooms are repositories for these sorts of things. No joke.

Marty

 

[kzphoto]

I have a skin allergy from grabbing prints, I tend to get itchy if I spend too much time near photographic chemistry. =/

 

[dyao]

What are some good tips for darkroom safety, then? Are there previous threads on this topic?