A question about health and safety

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KayJay

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I've got some questions about the health and safety issues surrounding developing at home.

I've currently got all my chemicals in varous containers designed for chemical use, most came from ag photographic. I noticed on the back of the Kodak D76 packaging that 5% of the contents are made up of a known carcinogen. Now, based on this fact should I really be keeping my chemicals in the house or should I move them out into the shed?

Secondly, how much exposure is too much? I haven't used rubber gloves in the past but am now thinking I should buy a box of disposable ones to be safe.

Lastly, are there any developers that are known to be environmentally friendly? What would you recommend?

Thanks!
 
As an H & S practitioner I can honestly say I haven't given this a moments thought until now.....:thinking:

A quick trawl found this....

http://www.trueart.info/photography.htm

....which seems to cover all the bases.

Personally I would use latex gloves when developing and probably a mask as well (although this may be going a bit too far but you can never be too careful). Generally speaking the chemicals, if stored correctly, should not be a problem if kept in the house and used in a well ventilated area.

Andy
 
Andysnap said:
As an H & S practitioner I can honestly say I haven't given this a moments thought until now.....:thinking:

A quick trawl found this....

http://www.trueart.info/photography.htm

....which seems to cover all the bases.

Personally I would use latex gloves when developing and probably a mask as well (although this may be going a bit too far but you can never be too careful). Generally speaking the chemicals, if stored correctly, should not be a problem if kept in the house and used in a well ventilated area.

Andy
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy. I've only started thinking about it recently. I've only developed maybe 15-20 films so far over the past couple of years and I'm thinking that the hazards only really apply during repeated exposure. That link is definitely helpful though.

I know that D-76 contains Hydroquinone. That links states...

Hydroquinone can cause depigmentation and eye injury after five or more years of repeated exposure, and is a mutagen.
Click to expand...

There is also some evidence to suggest that it may be a carcinogen. I'm probably going to be more cautious to be safe; get an apron and gloves, i already have an extractor fan for ventilation.

The problem I see is a lot of places sell development kits but none state any safety concerns.
 
I think that due to how long people have been developing at home its one of those areas that gets missed. I think that better safe than sorry is the way, for the sake of a few quid on gloves, goggles and an apron and a bit of ventilation you'll not go far wrong.

Andy
 
Ish Gods.....


pansies..lol




although, I wouldn't want my 6 year old snorting developer powder, or glugging fixer.



KayJay said:
Lastly, are there any developers that are known to be environmentally friendly? What would you recommend?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

How about Caffenol, Coffee & vitamin C, the World wouldn't end if a 6 year old got hold of that
 
The whole point about this is that you need to put it in perspective - anything is toxic or carcinogenic its just a matter of the dose (first thing we got told on my toxicology module), just getting a tiny amount of developer for instance on your fingers is not going to give you cancer, you would need to ingest a lot of it for it to actually cause mutations and potentially a lot more if inhaled.

As Ilford point out in their H&S documentation (http://www.ilfordphoto.com/healthandsafety/page.asp?n=163#How Photographic Chemicals can Affect Your Body), there is no evidence in humans that hydroquinone is a carcinogen although there is some limited animal data (which should always be taken with a pinch of salt as animals always have some physiological differences with regards to toxicity, carcinogens etc - just look at dioxins, very small concentrations are fatal to cats, dogs etc and it was assumed this would extend to humans but in actual dioxin spills this has not been found and nor has there been evidence of an increased rate of cancer or birth defects). If your developing hundreds of films a year in a lab for instance then there may be a risk of cancer or toxicity through chronic exposure, but for the amount that most of us will develop the risk is quite low. Just use the appropriate protective gear and be sensible in how its stored, handled etc and you'll be perfectly fine.
 
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I believe XTOL is made with an ingredient very closely related to Vitamin C, although I forget the details.

I wear gloves and vent the area where I work, and IMO that's adequate for the potential risk. Frankly this London air I'm breathing in isn't doing me any good but hey ho...
 
s162216 said:
The whole point about this is that you need to put it in perspective - anything is toxic or carcinogenic its just a matter of the dose (first thing we got told on my toxicology module), just getting a tiny amount of developer for instance on your fingers is not going to give you cancer, you would need to ingest a lot of it for it to actually cause mutations and potentially a lot more if inhaled.

As Ilford point out in their H&S documentation (http://www.ilfordphoto.com/healthandsafety/page.asp?n=163#How Photographic Chemicals can Affect Your Body), there is no evidence in humans that hydroquinone is a carcinogen although there is some limited animal data (which should always be taken with a pinch of salt as animals always have some physiological differences with regards to toxicity, carcinogens etc - just look at dioxins, very small concentrations are fatal to cats, dogs etc and it was assumed this would extend to humans but in actual dioxin spills this has not been found and nor has there been evidence of an increased rate of cancer or birth defects). If your developing hundreds of films a year in a lab for instance then there may be a risk of cancer or toxicity through chronic exposure, but for the amount that most of us will develop the risk is quite low. Just use the appropriate protective gear and be sensible in how its stored, handled etc and you'll be perfectly fine.
Click to expand...

:thumbs:
 
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overreacting in some way. I've got my wife's rubber gloves now. Just need an apron.
 
KayJay said:
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overreacting in some way. I've got my wife's rubber gloves now. Just need an apron.
Click to expand...

any excuse ,,,just so long as it stops there :lol:
 
For B&W I'm not really worried tbh - C41 and E6 are a bit nastier though and I'll admit I did wear eyeshields and protective gloves when I used to work at home with those. For B&W though, I generally only wear gloves if i've a cut/scratch on my hands (a regular occurence, as I'm a clumsy oaf!)
 
Apron, gloves and eye protection in a reasonably well ventilated area with b&w chems ......safe enough imho.
 
According to common law, a high visibility jacket must be worn at all times during development and if in an area larger than 13m² you must be coned off from others in the vicinity.
 
:lol: ^



When souping film, I sometimes wear........


...trousers..



:D
 
I never wear trousers in any kind of soup, just makes them soggy.
 
Health and what?
 
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