toxicity of photographic chemicals

Dan Shapiro (dan@good.stanford.edu)
Fri, 7 Apr 95 12:56:00 -0700

It seems to me that people have a lot of different attitudes towards the
basic risk of working with dichromates and other photographic chemicals.
We've all heard warnings and anecdotes about toxicity, but somehow it
doesn't quite serve to bring it home. Photography classes are often
rubber-gloves-if-you-are-lucky kinds of affairs, and individuals tend
to lose respect for the chemicals over time... I've seen this reaction
in professional chemists whose *business* is understanding their materials.

What are some good sources for understanding the way precautions (or
their lack) reduce risk? How do you recognize early toxicity effects?
When is a good time to start worrying? For example, can dichromate
poisoning accrue from blow-drying a dozen prints, or do you really have
to spend years mixing powders and dipping your hands in solution until
they are permanently yellow? Is there a classification standard for
photographic chemicals that would let you know in general how to behave?

Who knows about toxic effects, how to test for them, and how to correct
them? Is this something you should expect of your family physician? If
not, who are the experts? Whom do you call? I''l bet that people have
spent alot of time negotiating this maze. An ounce or two of
foreknowledge would be a useful thing.

Dan Shapiro