Hi
I have tried using Amidol developer a couple of times recently and on each occasion felt ill for a couple of days afterwards ie bad taste in the mouth, stomach upset and headache, are these the symptoms caused by Amidol poisoning?
Hi
I have tried using Amidol developer a couple of times recently and on each occasion felt ill for a couple of days afterwards ie bad taste in the mouth, stomach upset and headache
They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.
-Francis Bacon
You're not supposed to drink the stuff! But seriously, do you wear a proper breathing mask and gloves when mixing the dry ingredients? Do you wear gloves when using the wet dev? Is your darkroom well ventilated? I've followed these steps for many a dev session and never felt what you are feeling using amidol. Amidol is nasty stuff and it may well be you have a low tolerance to it. I hope you can figure this out for your sake.
John, that link doesn't work for me. Try this:
http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-2_4_...ol_HCl-9923700
Are you putting your hands in it or using gloves?
Kirk - www.keyesphoto.com
Try Ansco 130 instead.
Amidol is somewhat poisonous, but I doubt that you could even manage to kill yourself by drinking Amidol developer - the alkaline and even the water content are likely to put you out of circulation before you could build up a critical Amidol level. And it is no powerful contact poison either - up until fairly recently many DIY hair dyes contained a higher Amidol concentration than any developer ever invented, and you were supposed to rub them into your hair and let it sit for half an hour...
It is a powerful allergen. However, your symptoms are about as far from an allergy as it can get. Unless you have indeed been drinking the stuff, an allergy would not make you sick first of all, but give you hay fever, asthma or a rash on exposed skin areas.
It might also be a carcinogen (and that is the main reason why I'd wear gloves and mask) - but even if it is, you wouldn't notice for another few decades, so there must be something else at the back of your problem.
Sure you aren't suffering from eye strain or CO2 poisoning? Either would match the description, and they are quite likely to affect you in a unventilated darkroom....
What temperature is your water when mixing? Too high and it will gas off. I have used it for a number of years with nitrile gloves and without a respirator. No problems. I would not want to breath the powder. Weston used it without gloves of any sort and consequently had black finger nails.
When i started experimenting with Lodima and Amidol, i read some of the MSDS's.
I decided not to take any risks with it and my lungs. I number of cases of pneumonia have left them scared.
I have an exhaust fan that i bought from Home Depot and a very good respirator.
Whenever i mix powders, i always use the fan and respirator but during development, just the fan is on unless im doing color RA4, then i also use the respirator.
With Amidol, i always use Nitrile gloves to be safe.
I didn't want to end up with an allergy to a process and paper that i now love.
I've used Michael Smith's Amidol formula for about 5 years now. I wear a mask when mixing the chemicals and wear gloves when mixing the chemicals and when developing the prints. Other than a black toe when I spilled some on my bare feet, I haven't noticed ANY ill effects.
Good luck,
John
Is the fan LOWER than your nose or HIGHER....Originally Posted by IanMazursky
the preferred placement of an EXHAUST FAN for a darkroom is LOW. Keep the fumes, dust away from your head, not drawn past it to the exhaust...
Does the fan exhaust enough volume... fast enough...
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