Is there a source somewhere that might list typical photographic materials and any related related toxicity issues.
The MSDS of the products you use are a decent starting point to get a vague idea of what you're up against. Then use the CAS numbers of the compounds of interest and Google those for a little more information.
One of the problems is that 'toxicity' is really a vaguely defined term. What's the concern - toxicity to humans, other mammals (pets), aquatic life, the environment in general? How toxic does it need to be for us to be worried about it, how much do we actually use and discard of it, how do we discard it and can we dispose of it in a way that makes it less harmful...?
Before you know it, you end up doing an
LCA on photographic processing and I assure you that very little photography will be done anymore at that point - you'll be way too busy studying!
This is not to downplay the risks and concerns associated with darkroom chemistry. Far from it. But it's a caution to (1) remain reasonable, which I admit is a very subjective term, and yet I deliberately choose it and (2) to be clear on what you want to achieve/which principles you hold and then try and do the best you can to strike a workable compromise. In the end, a compromise it will always be. The most sustainable option is to dig a grave before you procreate...
Having said that:
Xtol and clones. Can't get better than that without resorting to caffenol.
Absolutely. There are also 'eco' developers that rely on the same vitamin-C (ascorbate) + phenidone combination. While phenidone is probably no less toxic or dangerous than metol, only about a tenth of it is generally used in photographic formula compared to the amount of metol that would otherwise be present. Ascorbate of course is not considered a hazard and as such is a nice replacement of the nastier hydroquinone.
Another area of interest is fixer; while fresh fixer isn't particularly harmful and could in fact be used as a fertilizer, used fixer contains silver salts that are an environmental concern. So dispose of your responsibly. It may help to let the majority of the fixer evaporate (set it out on the porch; anywhere with a roof over it is fine, really) and then take the sludge to a disposal facility.
In the end, analog photography is really a massive munch of photochemical processes, which is also true for alt. processes, so it's literally a case of 'pick your poison'.
Keep also in mind that regular photographic materials all rely on the tried and tested silver-gelatin combination, and this means that film and paper are not vegan or vegetarian. This used to be a non-issue in the past, but I increasingly hear questions and concerns about sustainability and animal welfare. Photographic gelatin is to the best of my knowledge never 'organic' and not specifically sourced to be very sustainable in any way; it's just very pure (and mostly porcine, so not halal and kosjer, I imagine).
Maybe all this is a good cue to have a talk with your grandkid about making choices in life and the inevitability of compromise, and of balancing your own interests (and pleasure, satisfaction) with the interest of other people and entities.
