From: Bob Kiss (bobkiss@caribsurf.com)
Date: 05/11/03-07:42:24 PM Z
DEAR LIST,
This may be slightly off topic but, as this was discussed on this list
before, I thought some might be interested.
I was returning from a few days in Fort Lauderdale where I had
Photographer's Formulary send me a 5 pound plastic jar of Sodium Sulfite
which I use both for F-6 for silver and in my EDTA clearing bath for Pt/Pd
printing. To avoid possible leaks I tied it in a thin plastic bag, rolled
it in some slacks and packed it in my suitcase (aka checked luggage). At
Miami International they have both X-ray and hand inspection for checked
luggage. The TSA employee who was rifling through the contents of my
suitcase asked me what it was and I replied honestly, "Sodium Sulfite, a
preservative for photo developers"...terms with which I hoped he might deal.
He said, "Nope, can't check this...it has sulfur". I stated that it was a
very basic chemical, not explosive, not highly reactive etc. I mentioned
that my cologne would do more damage if it spilled. He said, "It has sulfur
and is flammable". I asked if there was someone who might know more about
chemistry that I could ask and he called for a supervisor. It took 10
minutes for this person to arrive and she declared without any explanation
that because there was sulfur in sulfite it wasn't allowed. I politely
asked if there was a list of banned substances where I might see Sodium
Sulfite listed. She glared at me and said there was no list but I stood
calmly staring back at her. She finally called over a woman from behind the
counter who took the sulfite to a phone and called someone. They had an
intense discussion and this woman called me to ascertain my destination.
When I replied, Barbados, she spoke in the phone and said, " No
problem...this stuff is pretty safe." The original TSA agent stated that he
was only doing his job and I responded by complimenting him on being
thorough...that I wanted to get home safely and I am counting on him to keep
up the good work.
It appears that extremely polite persistence can pay off. These people
are doing a tough job and simply cannot be experts in chemistry. It could
have easily gone much worse but it was obviously worth the effort.
CHEERS!
BOB
Please check out my website:
www.bobkiss.com
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