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Thread: Doctor/Chemist in the house?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Mar 2001
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    Seattle
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    633

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Hi Folks,

    I've been involved with darkroom printing for about 10 years, and I've definatel y developed a sensitivity to the fumes from the chemistry. It seems to be gettin g worse. I've improved the ventilation and started using an acid gas respirator to cut out the sulphur dioxide, and this has helped, but its still not great. Do es anyone on the forum know exactly which parts of the B&W process cause the mos t harmful by-products, what they might be, and what exactly they do to the body? I've been suffering from light-headed dizzyness and cannot spend more than a fe w minutes without wearing the respirator near open trays without a reaction. I k now the answer ultimately might be..."go digital", but I'm just curious what mig ht be happening, as my heart is breaking at the thought of letting silver printi ng go (A personal crisis!). Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks a lot,

    Chris Jordan (Boston) www.jordanphoto.com

  2. #2

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Chris The main inhalation problem is sulphur dioxide from fixing baths, it's created by thiosulphate (sodium or ammonium) decomposing after standing for long periods. Also fixer contamination from acid stop baths creates sulphur dioxide, for this reason I use a plain water stop and frequently change it.

    I too have suffered from chemical hypersensitivty but from a different source, it gave me asthma and once the source was discovered and removed I slowly recovered. It took my lungs 3 years to recover but I could have easily become a chronic sufferer if the right steps hadn't been taken, so you have to take this very seriously.

    I have a good book called "Health Hazards in Photography" by Susan Shaw, 1983 ISBN 0-933286-35-X (cloth) ISBN 0-933286-37-6 (paper), the book details chemical hazards and would be worth getting hold of if you can.

    I was given the book by a guy retiring from photography, like you he had sensitivity problems from the fumes. After reading the book he got an expert in to design a proper ventilation system for his darkroom, once installed there was no fume smell and headache and other problems never came back.

  3. #3

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Chris: You have been given knowledgeable medical advice, now for some photo thoughts. It is understandable that the artist be in love with his art. By association he may also come to be in love with his tools. There is the problem, the tools are not the art. I am a chemist and not a chemophobe but I know that chemicals need to be treated with the respect that a snake handler gives his charges. With proper care they are OK. However there is no reason to persist when other, wonderful and safer alternatives are making it possible to do photography without the wet stuff. In an exhibit, looking at the beautiful large prints from David Muench, digital became a reality for me. All those exquisite prints were digitally processed from film and the photographer never had to come into contact with chemicals. Those were handled in a lab properly set up for the purpose. Lots of people in this forum hold dearly to the old ways. They are the soldiers that will guard the fort till the end. They distrust the new digital world as much as people did mistrust "synthetic or artificial" ice when refrigerators appeared in the market. But digital and refrigerators will be around for a long time. Exploring new ways to creativity should be a wonderful experience and may free you from having to use things that can hurt you. Give digital a try. If not, heed Clayton's advice. Hope you are OK and take care.

  4. #4

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    I don't think it's a distrust of the digital world for all of us.

    I'm new to both large format and darkroom work and find that I genuinely enjoy the manual, "analog" nature of the work. I'm not dexterous enough to draw or paint and the opportunity to create something with my hands, through a traditional process is very rewarding. I'm pretty sure I'm not afraid of computers though since I pay the bills by being an engineering director at an Internet infrastrstructure company during the day... :-)

  5. #5
    Old School Wayne
    Join Date
    Dec 1999
    Posts
    1,255

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    fumes? I use citric acid stop bath and have used a plain fix in the past, which consists only of hypo and sulfite. There are no noxious fumes with this system. I now use rapid fix(because I'm impatient) with excellent ventilation (2 muffin fans directly in back of the fix tray, vented directly outside, and I keep the tray covered unless my paws are in it), but I'm ready to go back to the plain fix if I ever need to.

    I used to love chemical smells, especially acetic acid stop, but not anymore. I also used to smoke (no more), which I think increases sensitivity over time.

  6. #6

    Join Date
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    Seattle
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    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Thanks for the advice, so far. I am a graphic designer by day, and so am quite familiar with the digital tools. I see their merits and am planning to explore them in relation to my art. I was hoping this thread wouldn't turn into the usual analog versus digital debate, no disrespect intended. I am a fairly serious B&W printer and this problem is causing a fair amount of distress as I am amidst sizable printing project, getting ready for an exhibit and a few sales (smiles). I am hoping to aleviate the problem as best as possible. I've just ordered the Overexposure book. Thanks, Clayton for the info. Exploring new methods is certainly a good idea, although its hard to switch overnight, especially when one derives a good amount of enjoyment and pride from their printing practice. Thanks again,

    Chris

  7. #7

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Chris and others

    I didn't realise but the book title was wrong!

    should read

    "OVEREXPOSURE Health Hazards in Photography"

    Clayton

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Dec 2000
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    Tonopah, Nevada, USA
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    6,334

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Chris,

    I'm no expert but I do understand that the human reaction to chemicals is one that gradually gathers toxins until a threshold is reached and once at that point, there's not much you can do besides what you're doing. I've reached my threshold for metol and have to be very careful at this point with contact of MQ developers.

    Lloyd Erlick (Great piece about his work in PhotoTechniques) has some interesting alternatives that might help you bypass the chems that are irritating you. His website is one of the best I've ever discovered and the page you want would be; http://www.heylloyd. com/technicl/plain.htm

    Hope you can get a handle on it. Like you I'm somewhat familiar with both venues, but for me, the computer is where I "stress/work", and the dark room is where I relax.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Sep 1998
    Location
    Oregon now (formerly Austria)
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    3,397

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Before you go about trying lots of different "cures" or changing to digital, perhaps you should spend some time isolating the exact chemical component that you are having a reaction to. There are many irritants and substances to which you could be having or have developed a reaction to. If Metol is your problem, there are plenty of developer formulas without it, if acid fumes, that can be taken care of as well, if hydrogen sulfide gas, that too can be eliminated. In short, diagnose before treating and don't throw the baby out with the bath water (or the used fix!). Regards ;^D)

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Posts
    214

    Doctor/Chemist in the house?

    Chris, It may not be just fumes,I`ve found that a good set of tongs and thin rubber gloves have been extremely helpful for limiting chemical exposure. Be well.

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