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Photo Forum / Film Photography / Darkroom / August 2004B&W Chemistry Side Effects
On occasion I've been experiencing slight headache and tinnitus after leaving the darkroom. Maybe I need to beef up my ventilation? Ouch. Anyone else experience similar or other symptoms? D-76, Stop, Fix, HCL? I'll just answer my own question on this one.... http://www.ncchem.com/snftaas/aldehydes.htm#GLUTARALDEHYDE-INDUCED%20NEUROTOXICITY > On occasion I've been experiencing slight headache and tinnitus after > leaving the darkroom. Maybe I need to beef up my ventilation? Ouch. Anyone > else experience similar or other symptoms? D-76, Stop, Fix, HCL? > I'll just answer my own question on this one.... > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > leaving the darkroom. Maybe I need to beef up my ventilation? Ouch. Anyone > > else experience similar or other symptoms? D-76, Stop, Fix, HCL? I'm not sure what the link above has to do with any normal photographic work. Gluaraldehyde is a hardener for gelatin. I _is_ used in some alternative process, and in the manufacture of film, but is seldom encountered in normal photography. Most photographic chemicals are relatively benign although some require a reasonable amount of caution in handling. Packaged chemistry is pretty safe. There are some things to watch out for. For instance, acid fixing baths can emmit sulphur dioxide gas. This has a pungent odor and can be very irritating to the mucous mebranes. It can trigger asthma in some people. The answer is to have good ventillation in the darkroom. Also, the use of low acidity or neutral fixing baths will pretty much eliminate the gas. About the only other hazardous gas in normal photography is Hydrogen dioxide (rotten egg odor) emmited by toners containing Sodium Sulfide or Potassium polysulfide. These should be used where there is ample ventillation, preferably not in the darkroom because the gas fogs undeveloped film or paper. The hazard from both gasses is minor in normal use. There are some hazardous substances which can turn up in the darkroom but if you do B&W with packaged chemistry you will not encounter them. If you have headaches or tinitus after working in the darkroom the cause very unlikely to be the chemicals. You should see a doctor about both. Tinitus is very common but in something like 60% of cases it is without a findable cause. It should be checked because it can be caused by small tumors on he auditory nerves. It can also be caused by exposure to loud sound. If you have a loud blower in a darkroom it could very likely cause your ears to ring. Headaches are caused by all sorts of things including eye strain. Of course, it can also be caused by poor ventillation. If there is enough sulphur dioxide to cause a headache you should be able to smell it. You can find MSDS and some toxicological information at http://hazard.com Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA dickburk@ix.netcom.com >> I'll just answer my own question on this one.... >> [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] >Los Angeles, CA, USA >dickburk@ix.netcom.com Sorry, Richard, I'm sure you meant hydrogen sulfide, not hydrogen dioxide, whatever that might be. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is actually more toxic than cyanide, but because of the terrible smell, you are not likely to encounter enough of it to cause a problem. >Sorry, Richard, I'm sure you meant hydrogen sulfide, not hydrogen >dioxide, whatever that might be It's anti-water ;>) Regards, John S. Douglas, Photographer - http://www.darkroompro.com Please remove the "_" when replying via email > >> I'll just answer my own question on this one.... http://www.ncchem.com/snftaas/aldehydes.htm#GLUTARALDEHYDE-INDUCED%20NEUROTOXICITY > >> > On occasion I've been experiencing slight headache and tinnitus after > >> > leaving the darkroom. Maybe I need to beef up my ventilation? Ouch. Anyone [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > more toxic than cyanide, but because of the terrible smell, you are > not likely to encounter enough of it to cause a problem. Hydrogen sulfide it is. I was also writing about sulfur dioxide and got the two mixed together (don't do this at home). Both are noxious and toxic but also occur in quite small amounts in photography. Hydrogen sulfide is so evil smelling that I don't think anyone would expose themselves to enough to cause harm. However, sulfide toners should be used where there is plenty of ventillation, even outdoors. I don't want to say that there is no hazard but the practical hazard in using photographic toners is slight. Sulfur dioxide occurs where acids react with chemicals like Sodium sulfite, as in fixing baths or when film or paper is placed in an acid stop bath. This has a sharp odor and is quite irritating even in small quantities. Again, good ventillation is important. By using water bath stop or a bisulfite stop bath, and by using a neutral fixing bath sulfur dioxide can be virtually eliminated. Some people are very sensititive to it. I think I said this all above but it bears repeating.  Signature--- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA dickburk@ix.netcom.com Richard Knoppow wrote (in part): > Hydrogen sulfide it is. I was also writing about sulfur > dioxide and got the two mixed together (don't do this at > home). Both are noxious and toxic but also occur in quite > small amounts in photography. Hydrogen sulfide is so evil > smelling that I don't think anyone would expose themselves > to enough to cause harm. Apparently, H2S in small quantities, stinks, but in larger quantities it tends to reduce one's sense of smell. One poor guy, who was an EPA inspector or in a similar occupation (I no longer remember), was went to check on a reported leak of H2S at a factory (oil refinery?) and died from it before he even turned on his test equipment. > However, sulfide toners should be > used where there is plenty of ventillation, even outdoors. I > don't want to say that there is no hazard but the practical > hazard in using photographic toners is slight. Signature.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642. /V\ Registered Machine 241939. /( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org ^^-^^ 06:50:00 up 20 days, 22:27, 3 users, load average: 4.21, 4.18, 4.11 >Sorry, Richard, I'm sure you meant hydrogen sulfide, not hydrogen >dioxide, whatever that might be. Quite right. > Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is actually >more toxic than cyanide, but because of the terrible smell, you are >not likely to encounter enough of it to cause a problem. Unfortunately, though H2S smells vile in low concentrations, it deadens the olfactory nerves in higher concentrations. This makes it exceptionally dangerous in industrial settings, where leaks of H2S cause numerous deaths. At high concentrations (several thousand ppm), death can occur in seconds. However, the concentrations found above a sulphide toner are exceedingly unlikely to cause any acute danger - but it may cause a headache after a while. SignatureDavid Littlewood > On occasion I've been experiencing slight headache and tinnitus after > leaving the darkroom. [chemicals?] Eye-strain _Very_ poor lighting Stress - damn those highlights! Working bent over double - poor breathing Cramped working conditions - no chance to stretch Poor ventilation, just for a 150+ lb animal * * * Or, who knows, might be a brain tumor. I guess we'll just have to wait and see ... G. Keilor SignatureNicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics. Remove spaces etc. to reply: n o lindan at net com dot com psst.. want to buy an f-stop timer? nolindan.com/da/fstop/ > On occasion I've been experiencing slight headache and tinnitus after > leaving the darkroom. One of the side-effects of photography is the occasional creation of a print - exept here in RPD. |
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