Uranium toning: special precautions for Uranyl Nitrate and other questions

[removed account4]

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

i've held this print of mateo's its absolutely beautiful.

good luck with your process!

john

 

[Travis Nunn]

When I met Ed Buffaloe a couple of years ago he had a uranotype with him. It was a nice print, but for me the orange/red tone wasn't so appealing. I looked at it as more of a novelty type print than anything. I have no desire to mix uranium with my photography so I'll leave the uranotypes and uranium toning to you guys.

 

[Removed Account]

From what I've read the danger with uranyl nitrate isn't radioactivity, since it seems to be made from depleted uranium and is lacking a large part of the radioactivity. The danger seems to be that the stuff is highly toxic and caustic, as well as potentially mutagenic and teratogenic. Since I'm lacking a suitable lab space it will be some time before I could potentially try this process. I'll start with Van Dyke and take it from there!

- Justin

 

[John Shriver]

Radioactive lenses (early Summicrons, etc.) are probably MUCH radioactively hotter than a uranium toned print. I have two lenses that make my Gieger counter rather excited.

 

[Bryce Parker]

I first read about Uranium toning in about 2004 and had a single vision for using it. Lately, well it is just too late.
I thought about printing an image of a TV screen with an aerial photo of a truck pulling away from a building in a desert setting, on the outside surface of an aluminum tube clearly marked ALCOA, via liquid emulsion.
Probably it is better I just didn't do it.

 

[Kino]

Uranium Nitrate's hazards are toxicity, not radioactivity.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

Ah.. Well then I stand corrected. Still, I think that I draw the line at dichromates and ether. Both of which may be more hazardous, I don't know.

 

[Removed Account]

That was part of my original questions, how the toxicity of Uranyl Nitrate compares to the dichromates and potassium cyanide (though ether is an excellent candidate as well). Any of our resident chemists care to chime in?

- Justin

 

[Ole]

The main toxicity of uranyl nitrate is radiotoxicity, which is more like dichromates in effect than the acute toxicity of cyanides.

Uranium gives off mostly alpha particles, which are "relatively harmless" outside the body as they don't even penetrate the layer of dead cells on the surface of your skin. But if that radiation occurs inside the body, it's a whole different matter.

Inhalation of the powder seems to be the greatest danger, as even the soluble uranyl only enters the body to a small extent.

It's also a "poisonous heavy metal", which tends to damage the kidneys.

Almost all uranium that is ingested is excreted during digestion, but up to 5% is absorbed by the body when the soluble uranyl ion is ingested while only 0.5% is absorbed when insoluble forms of uranium, such as its oxide, are ingested.[12] However, soluble uranium compounds tend to quickly pass through the body whereas insoluble uranium compounds, especially when ingested via dust into the lungs, pose a more serious exposure hazard. After entering the bloodstream, the absorbed uranium tends to bioaccumulate and stay for many years in bone tissue because of uranium's affinity for phosphates.[12] Uranium does not absorb through the skin, and alpha particles released by uranium cannot penetrate the skin.

 

[amuderick]

Sorry, Ole, you are incorrect. The toxicity is mostly chemical in nature. The half-life of U-238 is 4.5 billion years. I don't deny that alpha particles inside the body can cause damage, but the longer the half-life significantly lowers the activity level.

For example, the LD50 dose for Polonium-210 (the alpha emitter which killed Alexander Litvinenko) is about 0.4 millicuries (0.089 micrograms). For Uranium-238, you need to ingest between 1.3 and 2kg into the body to get the same about of radiation. Big difference. The chemical toxicity would kill your kidneys first.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

So out of curiosity, is the antidote for uranium poisoning the same as it is for other heavy metals (i.e., plain old hypo)?

 

[Photo Engineer]

David;

IIRC, the antidote is a heavy dose of KI and intravenous Na2EDTA.

PE

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

Potassium Iodine? The stuff i've been buying in 55 gal. drums and stockpiling along with my Kurt Saxon survivalist books and ham radio in an underground bunker?

I am ashamed to admit however that I am relatively clueless when it comes to the toxicity of a lot of things that I use. I wash my hands a lot, don't eat while i'm spraying oven cleaner in the oven and.. well, I don't eat or drink the chems either..

 

[nze]

I did some uraniunm toning and uranotype. I truly prefer the toning , which result in a great orange tone. . I also use mercuric toning to make magic paper. You could have a lot of fun with all this toning, just need to be careful.

 

[Removed Account]

Still, how dangerous is uranyl nitrate compared to potassium dichromate, ether and/or collodion, and potassium cyanide? Does it require special precautions beyond that required for the other 3 chemicals? ie. good ventilation, gloves, and a proper working space (so not a bathroom). Goggles probably would not be a bad idea either. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

- Justin

 

[Marco B]

Sorry, Ole, you are incorrect. The toxicity is mostly chemical in nature. The half-life of U-238 is 4.5 billion years. I don't deny that alpha particles inside the body can cause damage, but the longer the half-life significantly lowers the activity level.

While that may be true for the most common and relative stable U238 isotope, it's the also naturally occurring U235 isotope that may be the real thread. Although in natural deposits it maybe no more .5 percent, it is this isotope that is actually used in nuclear fission and that emits the more dangerous high energy neutrons upon breakdown that can set of the chain reaction necessary for a continued energy production.

There are even some "natural" fission reactors known in ore deposits around the world...

See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U235

Some lead clothing might be an idea? :confused: Well, I am far from any expert either...

 

[Marco B]

Anyway, if you are just interested in some funky toning colors, why not give copper red toning a try once?, or combine it with a sepia toning in a split sepia / copper red toning? (sepia first, as the alkaline bath of thiourea will break down a copper red toning, and some acid bath inbetween).

I've had some pretty funky salmon (copper alone) and orange / gold color results (and I mean "gold" as the metal color, not the blue of gold toning) with a split sepia / copper toning.

 

[amuderick]

Unless you obtain your Uranium from natural sources or it was processed pre-WWII, you will be using depleted Uranium which has a significantly reduced U-235 content. Even still, U-235 has a half-life of 700 million years and also decays via alpha particle like U-238.

A bag of Potassium Chloride snow melt has far stronger and more penetrating radiation than any amount of Uranyl Nitrate you'll be handling. The radiation is a non issue.

 

[Removed Account]

I've read about it being made from depleted uranium and relatively safe radiation-wise. Anyone care to compare the toxicity and handling precautions to the more commonly used dichromates, ether, collodion, and potassium cyanide?

 

[htmlguru4242]

Justin - read the MSDS sheet; it should give you the answers.

http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/UR/uranium_nitrate.html

That being said, I've worked with Uranyl Acetate and Uranyl nitrate a little bit for TEM (electron microscope) staining. It's a cumulative toxin, possibly carcinogenic, etc.; pretty much par for the course as far as the other chemicals you mention go. Be careful with it and you're fine. I'd work in a hood with goggles and gloves, and be mindful of what I was doing ... as the MSDS says "... the implications of long-term work with radioative [sic.] materials must be considered carefully. Safety glasses, gloves and good ventilation.".

I don't have much chemical authority, but it seems that if you can handle KCN safely, this stuff shouldn't be a problem. Good luck buying it though ...

 

[minerva]

There are two aspects to the potential hazard of uranium - its radioactivity, and its chemical toxicity.

Uranium is extremely weakly radioactive - U-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, which is extremely long. This is why it's so abundant in the Earth. This also means that the specific activity - the amount of radioactivity in a given amount of uranium - is very small. Furthermore, uranium is only an alpha emitter, so the overall radioactive hazard is not significant.

What about chemical toxicity? Yes, uranium is a heavy metal. Chemically, it's about as toxic as lead.
I'd handle uranyl nitrate with about the same degree of respect accorded to lead nitrate - gloves, and good hygienic chemical handling practice. Don't spill it everywhere, don't get it on you, don't eat it, and wash your hands afterwards.

Uranyl nitrate is a soluble uranium salt - so, unlike the metal, it's potentially more harmful and toxic than metallic uranium. Exactly the same thing is true for, say, mercury, or lead.

Uranyl nitrate is not even remotely close to the same level of dangerousness as something like KCN. If even a quite small amount of KCN finds its way into your body, it will kill you with impressive efficiency and haste. It's an acutely lethal poison.

I would also say uranyl nitrate is significantly less toxic than mercury(II) chloride or similar mercury compounds, which are very toxic.

As for potassium dichromate, it's probably about on par with dichromate toxicologically.

David;

IIRC, the antidote is a heavy dose of KI and intravenous Na2EDTA.

PE

KI is only taken if you're exposed to radioactive iodine to prevent the body taking up the iodine from the environment, eg. the Chernobyl accident.

If you ingest a bunch of uranyl nitrate by accident, though, I'm not a physician but sodium EDTA indeed does sound like a useful treatment, and maybe other similar chelating agents similar to what they use for poisoning by Pb or Hg or similar.

 

[Ian David]

Why not book a holiday to Australia, Justin? Plenty of naturally occurring uranium ore lying around out here. Every bit you take back to your studio is a bit that cannot get sold off for potentially nefarious purposes!
Ian

 

[railwayman3]

Don't forget to tell your Home Insurance Company before you start.

(Seriously, has anyone thought of this in regard to photo-processing?
My guess is that you would be OK with normal darkroom work with standard
amateur pre-packed chemicals, but how would insurers regard unusual lab chemicals in a domestic environment? Don't forget that insurers can disallow a claim for non-disclosure of relevent risks, even if that is not the cause of the claim.)

 

[nick mulder]

Reminds me of those stories about watchmakers, and those who painted the radium on watch hands to make them glow..

For fun, the Radium Girls painted their nails, teeth and faces with the deadly paint produced at the factory, sometimes to surprise their boyfriends when the lights went out.

 

[Jim Chinn]

From what I understand, folks painting radium watch and clock dials would lick the ends of the paint brushes to get a fine point to work with, thus ingesting radium and getting a fine concentration on the tongue and in the mouth leading to the applicable cancers.