Greg Iverson wrote
> I have a friend, a professional photographer, who is suffering from a
> rare type of anemia. It is believed he got this condition from the
> chemicals used in the dark room. I don't know if he used gloves, but at
> least he inhaled fumes for 30 years.
Isn't developer para-phenylenediamine (a.k.a. PPD)? This chemical is
commonly tested for in cases of dermatitis. It is the carcinogenic
ingredient of some hair dyes that caused the recent scare. I would say you
are mad if you don't use tongs, gloves and a separate aircon circuit.
I reacted severely - still not fully healed, three months later - to a
patch test for PPD, despite never having used either a darkroom or
hair dye. (Well, the doc may have mixed up the patches, but it doesn't
alter the fact that the chemical causes problems for many people.)
With any luck, digital photography will soon make it feasible to ban
photographic development in industry outside of sealed machines in
designated noxious industry areas. The minilab machines stink
out shopping malls, and IMO should not be permitted there. I
guess we can't stop people having home darkrooms but perhaps they
ought to be subject to inspection and the chemicals require a licence
for purchase, to prove the user knows correct safety procedure.
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