Film under Airport Xray: what to do?

Hi dear community,

 

i've just discovered that one f my recent shot kodak tri-x had gone

under airport luggege x ray, i maen not that one for the hand

luggage.

I remember that it should be quite damaging for films. I still have

to develop that film, any suggestion to limit damages?

The film was shot at 400

 

Thanks

 

Delfo

There's nothing you can do. Xrays expose the film and leave their marks similarly to visible light. It doesn't cost a lot to develop film, so develop it and see if you can salvage anything. But don't hold your breath.

Too late to limit damage. Now you can process one roll and see what actually happens to film left in checked luggage.

FWIW, my wife inadvertantly left a couple of rolls of Tri-x in her checked suitcase. When I later developed one of them, otherwise unexposed, the film was completely clear, no indication of fogging.

IIRC, I developed it in Diafine, giving it an effective ASA of 1600.

 

I certainly would not make a habit of this, but at least there may be some hope for your film.

Process it and see what you get. If it went through one of the high power units, it will be exposed and you will see why they warn you not to check unprocessed film. Not everything goes through the high power units at some airports as evidenced by undamaged film.

Try a developer considered to produce less fog than others. HC-110, Perceptol, Microdol-X, Microphen and others seem to produce relatively low fog. Ilfosol-S and Diafine produce more fog.

 

Also, adding a restrainer to any developer you choose certainly can't hurt.

I'm a pro photographer and ALWAYS ask for hand check. In Europe they won't so i put it thru

x-ray most of the time and so far not problems. It's really the BIG x-ray machine you have to

worry about, not the one when you go thru with hand check.

I have been traveling to Europe from the United States over the last few years and have had good experiences with security with my camera bag. I use lead-lined bags for my sheet film and if I place the bags along the sides of my carry-on camera bag, I find the bag will pass without further inspection. If I place the lead-lined bags along the bottom of my camera bag, the x-rays are totally block and security can not visualize any of the contents and it will result in a physical inspection. Most of the time airport security is very understanding of film and will try to minimize x-ray exposure if you approach them in a cooperative way.

 

Paul

"I'm a pro photographer and ALWAYS ask for hand check. In Europe they won't so i put it thru x-ray most of the time and so far not problems. It's really the BIG x-ray machine you have to worry about, not the one when you go thru with hand check."

 

Um, that is exactly the problem, he says that it wasn't the hand check Xray.

The film is probably fogged, how much will depend on where it was exactly, if it was partially protected by something else, and the kind of X-ray machine it went through.

 

You may want to use an antifogging agent to limit damage. If you have many rolls, you may try developing one and correcting afterwards. On the other hand you may develop it as you always do and correct digitally if you scan. This may give better results.

 

I did this once several years ago with 200 ISO color film (I sent a body in checked bagagge and forgot to remove the film before). It came out noticeably fogged but images were not wiped out.

 

There is no other route but trying it.

Try and hand carry your film through the security check.While the TSA will co-operate they will open all your boxed film at some airports and look in 35mm cassete cans ! Boxed 5x4 is a bigger problem as they cannot check it. I had to let some of mine go through the x-ray fortunatley it was not fogged.

Now I try and get my exposed film processed before I travel on particulary if I am flying to different destinations . I would also try and purchase my film on arrival but this is not always possible.

X-rays do have an accumulative action on film.

I work in a professional photo lab in the UK and I have seen x-ray damage to film.