How to Protect Eyes and Skin in the Darkroom

It is very important to take precautions against chemical exposure when working in a photographic darkroom. Chemicals are hazardous and can cause injury. Here are a few tips to protecting your eyes and skin from direct contact with photographic chemicals.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Protective clothing
• Gloves
• Goggles

1. Invest in a pair of goggles if you are very concerned with splashing chemicals. There are many kinds available; cover goggles that will fit over other glasses, indirect ventilated goggles and non-ventilated goggles. Indirect ventilated goggles prevent fogging and unventilated goggles prevent exposure to gases.
2. Wear protective clothing; a shirt with sleeves to your wrists, pants rather than shorts and covered shoes.
3. Wear gloves. Invest in a good pair of gloves, especially for mixing chemicals. Before reusing, check your gloves for holes by filling them with water and squeezing them to see if any leaks.
4. Try a barrier cream on your hands when gloves are not practical or comfortable. Barrier creams act as an invisible glove. You can get either water-resistant or water-soluble. Note that barrier creams need to be reapplied often, and do not provide the higher level of protection that gloves can. Even with the barrier cream, you should never directly come in contact with chemicals.
5. If any of your skin comes into contact with chemicals, immediately wash the affected area. Depending on the level of exposure (broken skin, eyes or ingestion) call a doctor or poison control as soon as possible.

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