What you say is true, no one's going to bath in formalin and few use it
daily, etc. But it's also true that the information should be accurate and
freely available to anyone who has an interest, morbid, phobic or otherwise
and wants to make a personal informed choice. You've made yours based upon
what you feel comfortable and safe with, but that may not be the case for
everyone. For someone contemplating pregnancy, would it be adequate to say
forget the fine print; mutagenic, teratogenic, it's just a brief exposure?
The bottom line that's been made before is that it's pointless to be
terrified of chemicals, they're an integral and necessary part of our lives
as you pointed out. But it's also prudent to know the characteristics of
what you intend to be close friends with. To what degree one chooses to look
is a personal matter. I said it before and I'll repeat it: people should
either not use materials they find offensive or frightening or they should
make a rational informed choice they're comfortable with and make some nice
prints already!
BTW, I think that it's a compliment to this group that differing opinions,
such as ours, should be able to be posted and discussed (perhaps to death)
on their own merits without flames. The information and support from this
group is amazingly global and useful. No more dire chemical warnings from
me, I've said what I felt important; hopefully the information was useful to
someone.
Also Judy, being rational, how do you feel about the effectiveness of
glyoxal vs formalin? Have you found the effects to be equivalent?
Happy Printing,
Richard Farber