Toxic chemicals

Almost everything is toxic to us. We aren't as resilient as we think. You dont want to drink/eat anything from your car-wash liquids, to the stuff you clean the toilet with. The worst thing you can expect if you take care, is cracked skin, or REAL soreness if you have a cut on your finger/hand. That's only if you spill the stuff on you.

Definitely use a well ventilated area, but over a year of using the college dark room I found the biggest danger to my health with the strain on my eyes and moving from darkness into blinding bright classroom.


Dont drink the chemicals no matter how tempting it is!
 
George, Conor's darkroom is inspiring! It CAN be done with creative thought. Smaller than mine when I lived in a studio apt on Capitol Hill myself. I used a walk-in closet for the dark area, and the bathroom across the hall for hypo clear, wash, tone, and dry. My chemical concern was limited to what the fixer dripping would do to the floor... 🙂
 
Chemicals.

Chemicals.

The only problems I've had in the past were in mixing and using color chemisty's from the 1970's. The was alot of formaldhyde in them which i am hypersensitive to.
 
They say photo chemistry can cause drain bamage. We don't believe them and neither does mother who lives in the broom closet where I store the stuff. Would you like to meet mother? Come on over on any dark, rainy night. Just come alone.
 
George,
The Pyro developer you and I were discussing can be toxic, it is TEA based though. Follow all precautions, gloves and a ventilated area and you should be fine. It's worth the hassle to have the control over your developing and the rewards for the effort.

Some of the best developers can be toxic, but the extra effort is worth it: Ilford Pan F souped in 510 Pyro.

Todd
 

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Toxic? I once ran a reaction in hydrofluoric acid when I was a chemist. I had to use plastic because HF dissolves glass. (acids don't get much stronger than that) And if you spill it in you you'll end up getting something amputated. The worst part is that it's a gas at room temp - inhale it and your lungs are damaged or you're dead. So leaving chemistry for finance seemed like a rational decision!

Good advice in this thread on proper ventilation and technique. You can handle chemicals safely. But it helps to have a little bit of fear to keep you on your toes.
 
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