My husband and I are considering building a dark room in our home!. Are there any precautions we should be aware of!? Are any of the chemicals toxic!?
I don't want anything to blow up!. Www@QuestionHome@Com
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Position:Home>Visual Arts> Are darkrooms for film development dangerous?Question: Are darkrooms for film development dangerous!? My husband and I are considering building a dark room in our home!. Are there any precautions we should be aware of!? Are any of the chemicals toxic!?
I don't want anything to blow up!. Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: well just be smart about it, i wouldn't consider smoking or having candles in or near the darkroom, not to mention that would mess up your film/prints anyway :) yes the chemicals can be toxic, again common sense i wouldn't put my hands in them and then in my mouth!. I worked in a photo lab at FSU i was also a photography student there!.!.!.it was suggested we wear latex gloves, but i never did, i don't have any problems from it, but i wouldn't do it constantly for years on end, it will dry your skin out, and some gets absorbed!. it also depends on the mix you decide to go for, i worked strictly with developing black and white film, and printing!. color is different!. just keep your chemicals separate and be neat and organized with your darkroom and always have something close for an eyewash, if you have very sensitive skin i would suggest purchasing a box of latex gloves(non powdered) i would do this anyway if you are going to be developing regularly anyway!.!.!.basically to have a functioning darkroom all you need is a room with running water that you can black out!.!.!.i would just keep this area restricted to you two of you, no animals no children and no irresponsible people!. and good ventilation would be a plus or you could get a bit loopy and would be dangerous over timeWww@QuestionHome@Com Do your research!. You will find that the chemicals ARE in fact toxic and suitable ventilation should be considered!. The biggest problem I had with my darkroom was disposal of toxic waste!. You might want to consider having a digital darkroom!. It's all done environmentally friendly on computers and there is no toxic concern!.Www@QuestionHome@Com My brother was a flim photographer and had his own darkroom!. He took and developed pictures for over 50 years and got bladder cancer!. It was attributed to the darkroom chemicals, (but not proved!.) He also did the same thing in a photo lab at a univeristy!. Exposure to any chemicals over a period of time is not good for your body!. Do give it careful consideration!. I think the film process is going to be too costly to do much longer!. Digital is replacing it!. Keep Arting! Jeff (weseye) Wesley http://www!.etsy!.com/shop!.php!?user_id=566!.!.!. Www@QuestionHome@Com Yes, it is toxic!. One of my photo instructors at school had to get rid of her Hasselblad because she couldn't be in the darkroom anymore!.!.!. it was making her sick (who knows why she didn't just buy a digital back for it)!. Anywho, thank God for digital, and Photoshop!Www@QuestionHome@Com No nothing will blow up but when you use fixer it needs to be reclaimed for the silver that ends up in it!. There is a type of chemistry called SPRINTSYSTEMS that is low toxicity!. They have PDFs on their site about the chemistry!. http://sprintsystems!.com/msds!.htmWww@QuestionHome@Com |