Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/11/05

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Subject: [Leica] Why the mad rush / toxic chemicals
From: kcarney1 at cox.net (Ken Carney)
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 19:38:10 -0600

When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the family concluded it was an open
and shut case - the darkroom got me.  Actually, my surgeon said there was
really no specific for renal carcinoma, but to shut everyone up I promised
to limit my exposure.  Then one evening I was walking past my son's room and
he was using this program, Photoshop...he showed me how to crop a photo and
I was hooked.  That was v. 3 or 4 and now I'm on v. 10.  I figure that when
I die my family will say, poor Ken, if only he knew the radiation he was
absorbing from those monitors.

Seriously, I do think people should know the basics, which many instructors
do not know.  You have to be committed to adequate fans and ventilation.  If
you can smell it or taste it you are ingesting it.  My darkroom had twice
the recommended air flow.  I won't go in our local student darkroom for that
reason.  Don't dunk your hands in solutions with heavy metals (fixer with
dissolved silver, selenium, gold 231 and all that). If you are doing alt
processes with some nasty stuff (amidol, pyro developers etc.) investigate
further.  As other posters have noted, I believe it is all moot now for most
of us.  

Ken
(A lot of my printing was platinum/palladium, where you pour the emulsion on
from a shot glass.  A major concern was that under safelight it looked a lot
like single malt -- a mental lapse might be really bad.)
 
> what we now do should be, in part, based on an objective evaluation of
> what happened then...
> conclusions, then new safer practices if needed.
> is there in fact any clear conclusions, that lead to altered practices?
> so far, I haven't been able to see a clear linkage...
> 
> surely some of the old pro's who have lived through all this can
> enlighten me,
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
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Replies: Reply from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Why the mad rush / toxic chemicals)
Reply from benedenia at gmail.com (Marty Deveney) ([Leica] Why the mad rush / toxic chemicals)
In reply to: Message from steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] Why the mad rush / toxic chemicals)