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  #1  
Old 29th January 2022, 01:39 PM
Nat Polton Nat Polton is offline
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Default Safe Chemical Storage.

A recent post about possibly dangerous chemistry in the darkroom has got me thinking of the way I store my raw chemicals.

I know of one or two things that react dangerously when they come into contact with each other, so I store them well apart.

Can anyone recommend a simple book on darkroom or laboratory housekeeping that will tell me the things that can be stored together, and those that require special attention.

Somebody must have written a decent safety book for trainee chemists and lab assistants.

Cheers.
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Old 29th January 2022, 01:45 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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An interesting question Nat, to which I too will be curious if there is an answer.

I have quite a range of raw photographic chemicals, which I try to continue to store in the original containers that they came in. The only couple of exceptions being put into glass jars with screw top lids, when the container becomes a bit weak. I also store everything out of direct sunlight.

Any mixes and liquids that I make up from scratch, from the standard D76 / ID11, to cyanotype and lith mixes, I keep well stopped, usually in old screw top wine bottles, with LARGE lettering on the labels and stored in a plastic box in the bath, as some have leaked slightly over the years and it's easier to rinse them down when stored this way. I have no children in the house to worry about btw.

Terry S
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Old 29th January 2022, 03:03 PM
Michael Michael is offline
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This official document refers to further reading, which may be a reasonable start.
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Old 29th January 2022, 04:20 PM
snusmumriken snusmumriken is offline
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If you Google <<laboratory practice chemical storage>> you will find any number of pdf guides.

I went into this at my former workplace, where we had a small lab and some seriously hazardous chemicals, and of course a duty of care towards employees. In the end, you have to consult the safety data sheet (MSDS) for each chemical. Those are downloadable from any chemical supplier's website. Safety recommendations cover not only storage, but also handling equipment, protective clothing and spills kits. It can all end up VERY expensive, so common sense has to prevail.

What chemicals are you particularly concerned about?
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Old 29th January 2022, 04:55 PM
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Dave Hodson Dave Hodson is offline
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Hi Nat

A couple of books you might try and find are

"Overexposure" Health Hazards in Photography by Susan Shaw & Monona Rossol (1991)
and
"Health Hazards for Photographers" by Siegfried & Wolfgang Rempel (1992)

Neither talk extensively on storage but "Overexposure" has a bit more and both talk about techniques, procedures and hazards. If I could only have one, I'd probably buy "Overexposure" since I found it to be the most helpful but I liked Rempel's book and it reads well so if you can afford it, the two together are a good addition for your library.

Regards
Dave

Last edited by Dave Hodson; 29th January 2022 at 05:12 PM.
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Old 29th January 2022, 06:06 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Needs some thought, essentially some chemistry should be stored away from others, so you store acids away from chemicals they react violently with or produce toxic fumes.

An example might be Potassium Ferricyanide, mildly toxic as it would make you sick if ingested, but in contact with Sulphuric acid can generate Hydrogen Cyanide gas. The answer is Acids are stored separately, as are strong Alkalis

I'll see if I still have the COSHH report I drew up for the lab I ran, it's probably still stored on an old external hard drive.

The COSHH safety requirements are quite simple, logical, and to a large extent the MSDS for common sense but based on science, and more importantly each raw chemical, or formulated packaged (liquid or dry).

But after assessing darkroom chemistry safety we also need to look at the electrical safety. That's actually one of the most dangerous areas.

Ian
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Old 30th January 2022, 07:34 PM
Molli Molli is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nat Polton View Post
A recent post about possibly dangerous chemistry in the darkroom has got me thinking of the way I store my raw chemicals.



I know of one or two things that react dangerously when they come into contact with each other, so I store them well apart.



Can anyone recommend a simple book on darkroom or laboratory housekeeping that will tell me the things that can be stored together, and those that require special attention.



Somebody must have written a decent safety book for trainee chemists and lab assistants.



Cheers.
Thank you for asking this and to those who have answered.

I found a number of the MSDS to be quite frustrating when trying to find information about storage containers in particular. The only supplier in my state stopped sending raw chemicals in opaque, chemical resistant plastic jars and now sends them in zip lock mylar bags. Aside from being unimpressive, they're also a nuisance to stack neatly on a shelf with easily visible labels.

In trying to source jars at a chemist to replace the split bag my ammonium ferric citrate arrived in some time ago, I had to explain the chemical's use and ally his suspicions (I was also wanting containers for my potassium ferricyanide).

Just recently, I was looking through my inventory and noticed that the ammonium ferric citrate has turned into a solid mass (mess!) in the bottom of the jar while the excess that I'd popped in an old glass jar is perfectly fine. I'd have used only my glass jars, but was concerned about the metal lid.

That's the sort of thing I'd like to know more about to avoid wasting more chemicals and money in future and, of course, to be sure of how to store them all safely.
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Old 8th February 2022, 12:04 PM
Nat Polton Nat Polton is offline
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I have found the books mentioned by Dave Hodson. They are free to view online at https://archive.org/
You just have to sign in and borrow for one hour, no fees.

One day I must buy a copy of The Darkroom Cookbook. The problem with doing that, I would end up flitting from one developer to another and never really get to grips with any.
Trying to stick with 510 Pyro at the moment and resisting temptation at the moment.
Thanks to all for suggestions.

Cheers.
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Old 8th February 2022, 12:21 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nat Polton View Post
One day I must buy a copy of The Darkroom Cookbook. The problem with doing that, I would end up flitting from one developer to another and never really get to grips with any.
Once you have got over your flitting mode Nat, I would definitely recommend buying a copy of the DC. It must be the most looked at book that I have and I have managed to stick to home mixed D76 / ID11 and D72 for quite a while now.

But I just love looking up all the various chemicals that I read about and occasionally mixing up a toner etc. Well worth the money.

Terry S
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Old 8th February 2022, 05:12 PM
snusmumriken snusmumriken is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Molli View Post
I found a number of the MSDS to be quite frustrating when trying to find information about storage containers in particular. I'd have used only my glass jars, but was concerned about the metal lid.
...
That's the sort of thing I'd like to know more about to avoid wasting more chemicals and money in future and, of course, to be sure of how to store them all safely.
I bought a dozen brown glass Winchester bottles with screw caps, from a lab supplier (forget which one, but there are many; you can buy them on eBay too). They aren't expensive, certainly much cheaper than official photochemical containers from a darkroom supplier. There is advice at the point of sale about different cap inserts and what types of chemicals they are suitable for - but in practice I line mine with the little foil things you have to peel off the top of milk cartons, and they seem fine for everything I use.

At the same time I bought a lot of square-sided brown glass bottles with wide necks, which are useful in the darkroom for powder chemicals, and in the kitchen for herbs and spices.

If you have any concentrated acids (I keep conc. sulphuric acid, to mix a cleaning solution occasionally), it's a good idea to stand the bottle inside a glass beaker, because the acid tends to creep out somehow and will eat a hole in your cupboard. Also buy PPE and a spills kit!
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