Low toxcicity developers and fixers

<p>Hi,<br>

Could you please advise me on some non toxic developers that are safe but do not compromise the quality of the final print (I.E Non Metol and Hydroquinine) based ones. Also low toxcicity and low odor fixers as well.<br>

Thanks Mick</p>

<p>I find Ilford to be very good with respect to being non-toxic (stop and fix anyway). Freestylephoto.biz also sells a line of specifically non-toxic chemistry (I think it's Adox or Arista).</p>

<p>To be frank, very few photographers or photo.net members are qualified to advise you on this matter <em>(my comment is not directly at Michael Axel - his comment was posted while I was composing mine)</em> . I have a background in nursing and occupational safety and health (with some studies in industrial hygiene but I am not an industrial hygienist), and my best advice to anyone with this type of question is to consult the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and information provided by the manufacturers.</p>

<p>Some of the information I've seen on a couple of photographers' websites is biased at best and misinformed at worst. I'm trying to find a photography-oriented online source with reliable information but so far I haven't found a source I'd be willing to mention without the addition of a strong caution to be sure to cross-reference those claims with other informed sources.</p>

<p>Regarding "low toxcicity and low odor fixers", I'm reluctant to even see those two factors mentioned in a single phrase. There is no reliable correlation between toxicity and odor. Never assume that a chemical that smells pleasant or has no odor is safe, or that something that smells bad is toxic. There are darkroom chemicals advertised as having low odor - I would not be willing to comment on whether they are any less hazardous than unpleasant smelling chemicals.</p>

<p>Well all used fixers are toxic as they contain silver salts, no getting around that. Ilford Rapid fixer is low odor, and ascorbic acid stop baths are low odor as well.</p>

<p>Why the worry about toxicity? Developers are safe, unless you ingest them and they are less dangerous than toilet bowl cleaners or dish washer detergent. If I had my choice for soaking my hands in something for half an hour, I'd pick stop bath, high silver content fixer, D76 or Dektol or a mix of all of them over those other two items any day.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Bob probably means <em>citric acid</em>-based stop baths, not ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is a developer ingredient and would make a poor stop bath.<br>

If you are simply looking for a developer that doesn't have metol or hydroquinone, there are a number that fit the bill (XTOL comes to mind). But there are other toxic and / or irritating substances in developer besides those two. I would take Lex's comments very seriously. </p>

<p>Here's one brand: <a href="http://www.digitaltruth.com/products/silvergrain.php">http://www.digitaltruth.com/products/silvergrain.php</a><br>

Never used them so can't comment on the results. You can do some searching to find out what others think of the products and their claims.</p>

<p>If you mean toxicity in the laboratory sense, you're not gonna find one. I think you'd need about half a kilogram of sodium thiosulfate to hit LD50. "LD50," lethal dosage fifty, is the dosage that would cause death in about 50% of an otherwise healthy population.</p>

<p>If you need something that's less lethal than putting a pound of plain hypo in someone's body; well, what kind of situation is that?</p>

<p>A huge amount of the information that you encounter about substances will have a helluva lot to do with application and situation. A helluva lot. There'd be about zero chance of getting a 100% predictably accurate set of scientific advice through one email. An enormous portion of how we use science safely has to do with application and judgement.</p>

<p>If "LD50" is a term you don't often use or understand, then maybe what you need is some more basic education on lab safety. I'd bet five bucks blindfolded that you've got stuff that's more hazardous in a kitchen cabinet somewhere.</p>

<p>Do you really need low toxicity, or do you have an eye on safety? Since what you are basically doing with photochemistry is a very refined form of metalworking, I think it's unlikely that you'll find chemistry with lower toxicity because of the nature of the problem. You want to put metal in a bath to permanently change the metal. Pretty much everything you come across that does that will not be something you'll want in a living body.</p>

<p>That said, you probably encounter and successfully use numerous hazardous materials every day. Every time you put gasoline in your car, drive a car, or walk down the street, you are probably handling or putting yourself close to substances that are toxic. We often don't think about it because we're taught and encultured to use those items in safe ways.</p>

<p>Consult the MSDS and beef up the lab safety education is my general advice.</p>