Pregnancy and darkroom chemicals

My husband and I are exclusively digital photographers, and I've never worked

in a darkroom. I am considering attending an art school that requires using a

darkroom. While I'm happy to set up a home darkroom to use, as well as have the

experience, I'm also almost 6 months pregnant.

 

Does anyone know about the safety of using darkroom chemicals during pregnancy?

 

Thanks so much!

Use tongs and wear rubber gloves and change them frequently. Arespirator isn't a bad idea either. An old female friend of mine, Sharon Stewart developed some immune system problems which were traced to her darkroom work.

You will have to get scientific information from someplace like Kodak, but I can tell you from experence , we have had 6 women photographers here at the paper, who worked while they were pregnant without any problems. You can wear gloves and there are checmical barrier creams you can put on your hands when using chemicals. A breathing mask would work ,but not very easy to use. I would check with Kodak, Ilford, and Osha, to see what they say.

Here is a Univ. of Washington link that provides free phone advice on chemical exposure during pregnancy. http://depts.washington.edu/terisweb/teris/cnw.htm

 

One side note ... some OB/GYNs are concerned about breathing restriction caused by some respirator/filters.

My wife avoided developing black and white film while she was pregnant because of the

chemicals. If you've only got 3 more months left then I'd stay away from as many chemicals

as possible. There's not better gift you can give a child than a healthy start on life. I'm sure

there are women out there who drank and smoked during pregnancy and the baby turned out

fine, but would you want to take that chance?

Have you consulted your OBGYN? Don't you think that might be the best place to start?

Thank you to those who've volunteered their real-world experience. I have to decide between two schools and my first choice requires a darkroom course as the first class you take. Since class begins in September, what school I choose depends on whether or not I can participate in the required darkroom class. Pushing my start date back the winter isn't an option, unfortunately.

 

Frank, this isn't my first child, so I already know to ask my OB first. I'm waiting for his office to return my call, but in the meantime, I was hoping that by posting within this forum, I'd find a few ladies (or their husbands!) who've been through this situation before. But thank you for stating the obvious answer of consulting my doctor first.

Well, you don't have to worry about birth defects after the first trimester. I think your biggest concern would be the fumes somehow interfering with the lung development. From my understanding with my 2 sons (third coming in October), since they were both C-sections, the third trimester is all about adding weight and lung development since they don't have need for lungs in the womb. Everything else is already "cooked."

 

Conclusion? Ask your doctor, but I would assume the amount of time you'll be spending in the darkroom when you're 8 months pregnant will be insignificant.

Also, keep in mind, if the doctor knows nothing about darkroom chemicals, he/she will NOT give you the green light. Would you if you were him/her? Give the green light to participate in an activity you know nothing about but is obviously risky enough to have to ask about?

Gary -

 

Obviously I'll be bound by what my doctor says. I am just looking to educate myself as much as possible prior to his return phone call to me, so thank you for your response. He always considers outside information when planning a course of treatment, and information that we provide to one another truly make it a team atmosphere where we both play an educated part in my treatment.

 

OB's tend to be all over the place when it comes to chemicals. With my first child, my OB at the time (in the Marines) allowed me to color my hair after 20 weeks. With my daughter, that OB refused to allow me to color my hair at all, and with this pregnancy my OB said do what I want as far as hair dyes are concerned because there isn't enough exposure time or research data to prove it unsafe. Sometimes the green light depends on how that OB feels about any chemical and the stage of pregnancy.

 

I think I'll also contact the professor for the course and see what is recommended, how much work I'll truly be doing in a darkroom, etc.

I'm a foreign, male, medical layman but just 2 thoughts: a) I've seen extremely pregnant full time 1h lab workers.

b) Schools are usually safety obsessed. Do you remember for what BS you were urged to wear protective goggles? - They 'll avoid harming you and your unborn!

 

Nother thing: Harmfulness of chemicals varies. My father can't stand the smell of vinegar for example. If you are in a puking phase you maybe should avoid it. Seek expert help on which harmless chemicals to pick and read the small print.

"a) I've seen extremely pregnant full time 1hr lab workers."

 

Hardly the same thing as workign in a real darkroom.

 

"b) Schools are usually safety obsessed."

 

You are joking, right? Have you ever actually been in a photo school darkroom?

I'd contact Kodak or Ilford as they have likely done an extensive amount of testing regarding chemical exposure. And stay away from print toning for the time being. if you'll be nursing , I'd also be concerned about chemical exposure then too.

 

You should also check out the school darkroom's ventilation system as well.

You should get a copy of the "Material Safety Data Sheet" for each of the products you will be using. Provide your OBGYN w/ copies. Your OBGYN may wish to refer you to someone who specializes in workplace safety issues.

Wear gloves, wear a waterproof apron, wash your hands frequently, be concious about keeping your hands away from your mouth,nose , eyes, etc.

There are books about chemicals and safety for artists though I am afraid I can not come up with titles off hand.

Enjoy the photo course and enjoy your child.

Kim

This come up pretty often. Not only have I been a photographer for 60 years but for quite a few years a Navy Corpsman, a full time professor of photography for 16 years and a part time teacher for over 40 years.

 

We've spent a good bit of time researching this and this relates to b/w chemicals because it comes up in the conversations several times a year. All developing chemicals are "sensitizing", meaning that even if you haven't bees allergic before, over multiple uses, you may just suddenly develop an allergy.

 

First: If you are allergic to any of these chemicals, stay completely away from them until after you have delivered. Under all circumstances of allergy, avoid totally, contact with the skin, and in a few instances inhalation may be enough to trigger reactions, you may have to give up the darkroom business totally.

 

Second: If you aren't allergic, simply wear impervious gloves (pregnant or not).

 

Third: If you have morning sickness and you find the smell of acetic acid (or other chemicals) making you sick, just avoid it until this passes (normally in is only a couple of weeks).

 

Fourth: Under all circumstances, never put your skin in contact with any pyro chemicals, they will cause liver disease, or worse. However, Pyro is still a great developer, just understand that it is toxic.

 

Lynn

Forget it.

 

You don't want to worry and you especially don't want to blame yourself for the decision if your child has RED HAIR or some other impairment.

 

Another danger, though it won't affect you, is becoming a father in a darkroom.

Kim has the right idea. Obtain the MSDS' from the manufacturer of the chemicals. I believe Kodak's site has them for downloading. There will be MSDS for each of the products such as developer, stop bath, etc. Bear in mind that most commonly expressed forms of toxicity are for exposures occuring during a 8 hour period. That's because OSHA is concerned with workplace exposure. Generally, you don't work with any one chemical for that long. MSDS' are conservative. That is, they are both an information tool and a liability tool. Personal protective equipment such as safety glasses, rubber apron and gloves are always a good idea. Some people develop a sensitivity to a given chemical and quite quickly they are unable to work anywhere near it. As has been already pointed out, consult your doctor.

"I was hoping that by posting within this forum, I'd find a few ladies (or their husbands!) who've been through this situation before."

 

People engage in risky behavior all the time with no consequence. Responses indicating no apparent ill effect from those who have 'been through this situation before' will be have no value. Even if there was, you wouldn't know if the same exact materials were used or if the enviornmental controls were the same, the length or intesity of the exposure is the same ect.

 

Stick with the experts.

It is not recommended to come into contact with darkroom chemicals during pregnancy. This is a quote from Kodak. Also here are a couple more links to darkroom chemicals and pregnancy. The first link covers a lot of different types of unsafe exposure during pregnancy and the second is about photography.

 

http://envirn.umaryland.edu/hazards/pregnancy.html

 

 

http://www.csueastbay.edu/art/photography/Lab_hours/Darkroom_hours.html

If you are in doubt, stay out of the darkroom. Processing chemicals usually do not contain any solvents and therefore there will be little, if any, vaporisation in the air, so there is probably little risk to consume any hazardous substances by breathing. Some ingredients of developpers are poisonous but usually only when swallowed. To be sure you should use gloves.

 

Another thing are smells of the chemicals. The worst is the acidous smell of stop bath, I think. Stop bath usually is made from organic acids which will do no harm in small quantities, and the smell is even less dangerous.

 

Also, AFAIK it is more dangerous to expose an unborn child to hazardous substances in the early weeks of pregnancy.

This isn't rocket science. Do the darkroom class later.

 

You don't want to find yourself feeling remorse for a darkroom decision if things go wrong.

 

Don't try to become an expert. Experts are a dime a dozen.

 

Don't believe technical advice from ANYBODY, especially not your doctor or Kodak, should they tell you "don't worry."

 

Nobody comes close to mastering B&W photography without first doing their own work in a wet darkroom...but you have plenty of time to do that later...after you've stopped nursing of course.

 

Enjoy your pregnancy.

Katie, I would not handle the powdered developer chemicals: Let someone else mix them with water.

 

Beyond that, let's take a look at each bath:

 

2) Stop bath: The advise about conventional acetic acid (vinegar) stop bath inducing nausea is quite real. Here, you can use a citric acid stop bath, which, although more expensive, has no odor and is safe enough to drink (before using it to stop film or paper developing, that is!). You can buy citric acid on eBay or in some health food stores.

 

3) Fixer: Using a liquid "rapid fixer" (preferably ammonium thiosulfate) will obviate the need to mix powdered fixer;

 

4) Toner: Avoid, due to overall toxicity;

 

1) Developer: Here is where you need to consult the MSDS, as some ingredients (especially ANY pyro) can be hazardous, while others less so; while vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is in pregnancy category A.

 

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Another suggestion is to consult an OB/GYN who handles high risk pregnancies .OR. a physician who also uses a darkroom, for his/her advice & experience.