I didn't shoot this image. Actually, my wife did. What you see here is my own back, covered in 140 little cups of allergens. This all began in late fall when my entire body broke out in tiny itchy red spots. I rarely go to the doctor and I am nicely healthy but when the spots began to move up to my face, I was convinced to get checked out. Here is what we discovered after spending three days covered by these tiny cups: I am super sensitive to formaldehyde. I figured that was a good thing to be allergic to until the doctor handed me a 100 page list of all products that contain formaldehyde. Just about everything. I have now had to modify my very comfortable life. I found some products that don't contain formaldehyde, things like soap and shampoo (harder than it sounds), and pretty quickly my itchy spots went away. So why do I love digital photography? Why because the doctor tells me that 25 years of B&W darkroom work has led to my sensitivity to formaldehyde.
The good news is that all of you young photographers who have discovered photography since the digital age will most likely never have to modify their lives to avoid formaldehyde like I have to. Just one more reason to love digital!
3 comments:
Are you sure that your exposure to formaldehyde came from developing film? Here is a quote from the California Air Resources Board's December 15, 2009 report:
"Nearly all homes (98%) had formaldehyde concentrations that exceeded guidelines for cancer and chronic irritation..."
The executive summary: http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310exec_sum.pdf
The full report:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/past/04-310.pdf
The principal researcher's power point presentation:
http://iee-sf.com/resources/pdf/ResidentialVentilation.pdf
The introduction of fiberglass wall insulation, double pane windows, and/or vapor barriers such as Tyvek for energy conservation combine with laminate floors, MDF doors & trim, plywood and particle board for improved resource utilization in either original construction or added during subsequent 'upgrades' contributes significantly to the problem. Combine these practices and you have the perfect storm. This is what we have been doing over the past decade.
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