Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/11/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This isn't about darkroom safety - it's a part of a general Occupational Health & Safety buildup which has been going since the mid-1990s. It's largely fuelled by ass-covering. Legitimate concerns from employers, educational institutions and other parties are unfortunately mostly about liability in the event that someone gets poisoned or sick, rather than really wanting to prevent these kinds of events. I am a trained, registered chemical OH&S assessor in Australia. In the lab that I run we have a hazard register with a list of all the chemicals we have, and a procedures book with risk analyses of every procedure we undertake. Many of them are fairly amusing, properly contextualised. For instance we need several layers of personal protective equipment to work with products like 40% ethanol, which you can legally buy to drink (labelled as vodka). Petrol/automotive gasoline would be too dangerous to use in our lab, but you can legally breathe it in, or even splash a little around at a petrol/gas station but if you get sick, that's your own fault - everyone wants a car and takes responsibility for their own exposure here. I also udnerstand the other side of this. My wife is an OH&S Lawyer. Unfortunately, there are real risks that all too often go unaddressed and severe injuries and fatalities result - often as a result of falls, accidents with heavy machinery and other hazards. She has a really tough job. Let's not forget that Franz kafka was an OH&S lawyer (did you know he invented the safety helmet?) http://bestuff.com/stuff/franz-kafkas-drawings The real problem with all this is relativity. Darkrooms and many other places aren't that hazardous (I have a procedure with controls for working with ordinary salt...), but to adequately cover the risk employers often feel like people need to work with an amidol-based developer like it's ethidium bromide or asbestos. I find it deeply amusing that this page says: "Used Developer should be neutralized (pH 7-9) and flushed with large quantities of water to the sewer system." Developers are much more environmentally hazardous than they are problematic to humans, mostly because borates, silver and other products are much more toxic to microbes and plants than they are to large mammals like humans. And dilution does not make this kind of pollution go away. If you have a darkroom, take reasonable precautions and enjoy. If you are really concerned get an accredited OH&S consultant to provide you with a plan to minimise the risks. Remember that the solvents that you breathe in when you print with an inkjet are probably more hazardous than anything you use in the darkroom, but you can't smell them. Also think about risk when you light your next cigarette, take an alcoholic drink, get in a car and all the other things that in real terms are much, much, much more likely to kill you. This is on topic. Here: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Randomness/leo.jpg.html is Leonardo in our lab, replete with personal protective equipment (nitrile gloves). To have this type of specimen out for more than a few seconds we need to rinse it in plain water and work under an extractor so we don't breathe in the ethanol it's preserved in. End rant. Marty On Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 2:02 PM, Steve Barbour <steve.barbour at gmail.com> wrote: > > On Nov 4, 2009, at 7:18 PM, Sonny Carter wrote: > >>> From Univerity of Florida >> >> >> http://www.ehs.ufl.edu/HMM/photo.htm > > > thanks Sonny, I spent time in the darkroom 40 years ago, but not since... > > > I am glad... > > > > Steve > > >> >> -- >> Regards, >> >> Sonny >> http://www.sonc.com >> http://sonc.stumbleupon.com/ >> Natchitoches, Louisiana >> (+31.754164,-093.099080) >> >> USA >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >