Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/07/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> The toner I can understand, but fixer? Is vinegar handled as hazardous waste, > too? What about the sodium hydroxide in drain openers, or bleach? Spent fixer contains large amounts of silver, which, like most heavy metals, is toxic to plant and animal life and, unlike some other heavy metals, is cumulatively damaging to the chemical and biological reactions used in water purification plants. Most civilized countries now have toxic-chemical disposal guidelines for things including photographic chemicals. It took environmental chemists a long time to understand the damage to the environment from substances once thought to be completely safe. Virtually all liquids that contain heavy metals need to be handled with care.