chemical sensitivity

[paulr]

I have a friend who suffers from serious chemical sensitivity. It started when she worked in a horrifically unventilated college darkroom. She now has a darkroom with powerful vents, and she wears long rubber gloves and an industrial respirator. But it's gotten to the point where she gets sick within minutes of starting to print. We're not sure exactly what chemical does it to her (but we know it's not metol) because she doesn't want to put herself through the hell of systematic testing.

She did a mural printing project recently in another darkroom, and didn't get sick at all. The differences were 1) she wasn't using stop bath for the mural project, and 2) she was using Sprint developer instead of hear usual Edwal Platinum II.

So, I'm wondering, has anyone heard of an acetic acid reaction? It sounds unlikely to me. And if it's the developer, can anyone think what developing agent in Platinum II might be the culprit? The obvious answer would be to switch to Sprint, but it doesn't give her the slightly warm print color (on ilford gallerie, which she has a room full of) that she likes.

Another possibility is some different developer that gives similar results to Platinum II without the mysterious offending ingredient.

The ingredients I've been able to find in Edwal Platinum II:

Sodium Sulphite,
Dimezone-S,
Potassium Carbonate,
Hydroquinone,
Sodium Bromide,
Versene

Dimezone is a close chemical relative of phenidone; versene seems to be a trade name for EDTA.

Sprint developer contains the following (which she is aparenty not sensitive to):

diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol,
dimethlyformamide (a solvent that might cause problems, but doesn't seem to for her),
hydroquinone,
sodium metabisulfite,
sodium metaborate,

Thanks from her and me both for any ideas!

[Michael S. Briggs]

Since two items, stop bath and developer, were varied at once you can't be sure which one made the difference. Was the same fixer used? Looking at the ingredients of Edwal Platinum II that are not in the Sprint devloper, I don't seem any that seem a plausible cause, especially since she wears gloves. I am not a toxicologist, so I could be wrong. Some people complain about the smell of acetic acid. I suggest trying a citric acid based stop bath.

[Ralph Barker]

While she should really discuss this with her doctor, it sounds like substituting a water bath for the stop bath might be a good starting point. If that doesn't do it, then look at the developer. From your description, though, it sounds more like a reaction to air-borne fumes.

[bob carnie]

Hi Paul
Unfortunately , I would have to agree with Ralph regarding getting the Doctor involved. This has happened to a few workers I have known and you should advise her to go.
I doubt any of us on this forum would be able to help you on this matter, I am not trying to be pessimistic but practical.

[Eric Woodbury]

Reduce all the chemicals to the simplist form. Try Agfa Neutol Plus or make one of the vitamin C developers. Use water for stop. Use a simple fixer or use hypo (if you use hypo, you may need a stop bath, but it could be a vitamin C type, too.)

[paulr]

She's been to the doctor ... and the herbalist, and the acupuncturist, and god knows who else. Unfortunately, these kinds of chemical hypersensitivities (acquired allergies?) haven't been studied much. The most helpful advice a doctor tends to give is "stay away from that stuff."

I just found out she spoke with someone at the distributor or manufacturer who thinks it might be the dimezone (the only odd ingredient in platinum II). He's suggested she try ethol lpd, which is aparently very similar except for that. We'll see. If that doesn't work, I've advised her to try a water bath stop, just to eliminate that acetic acid possibility.

[Michael S. Briggs]

Are the indications that it is an inhalation caused problem, or a contact caused problem? I am guessing inhalation because of the use of gloves. A simple test: have someone else mix up the solutions and then have the sensitive person enter the darkroom, not touching anything. If she experiences chemical sensitivity, then it must be either inhalation or pyschological because of memories of previous experiences.

The Dimezone S is a common ingredient in commercial developers -- it is a variant of phenidone. Dimezone S is used instead of phenidone because it has a longer lifetime. This class of developers in generally considered to be unlikely to cause chemical sensitivity. If she is avoiding touching the developer, Dimezone S as the cause doesn't seem plausible.

Some people are bothered by acetic acid fumes or by sulfer dioxide that is emitted by some fixers. These seem more plausible to me. Alternatives are citric acid based stop baths, or a water stop bath, and simplier fixers.

This is all guess work and the decision about whether tto risk chemical contact is up to each person.

Even powerful fans may not ventilate well if the air flow isn't well thought out. The best approach is to withdraw the air at the back of the sink just above the solutions. This collects any fumes close to the source and moves them away from the operator. A powerful fan in the ceiling may pull the fumes past the operator.

[Bill L.]

Assuming it is the same basic type of sulphur moeity, some people are quite sensitive to sulfites. They are sometimes used as preservatives, and now IIRC require a warning lable (you'll see them on bottles of wine, at least).

Bill

[paulr]

Michael,
I hadn't thought of the sulphur dioxide possibility.
Is there a type of fixer that won't release this?

She's been wearing a cartridge respirator in the darkroom, with multipurpose industrial cartridges,
but not all cartridges stop all fumes.

[Conrad Hoffman]

I'm no expert on this, but it shouldn't be too tough to figure out where the problem is. Have her do some prints with only developer set up. Put 'em in water, don't turn on the lights, and ahve somebody else fix 'em. Now add a tray of stop and do the same thing. Then add a tray of fixer. At some point, she should be able to tell you what bothered her. IMO, developers put very little in the air. The problem is more likely the stop or fix. If stop is a problem, salad should be as well, but you can switch to various other chems or water. If fix is the problem, see if TF-4 is any better.