On 3/15/09, William Robb <[email protected]> wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "steve harley" > Subject: Re: Used fixer? > > > > fixer with over 5 ppm of silver is considered hazardous waste by the EPA; > some state laws are stricter; it's easy to assume that casual use can't > possibly be significant, but fixer is not the only potential source of > silver in wastewater; for example hobby jewelers may emit it too > > > > I recall a few decades ago when the EPA was turning it's eye to the > photofinishing industry, there were a number of California municipalities > whose tap water had enough naturally occuring silver dissolved in it to make > it illegal according to the EPA. > Such is the intelligence of government enforcement.
Free silver is significantly different than a silver thiosulfates, which is what you get with photo fixer. Unfortunately the Environmental Political Association doesn't make that distinction very well. Probably most of the silver in used fixer manages to bind itself to the sewer pipe sludge before it even hits the waste water plant. (That's right, it sticks to the crap, literally, in your sewer lines.) The rest of it, once diluted with your own waste water and everyone else's sewage is so insignificant that it really doesn't matter. What little of it that makes it into the the water downstream from the plant most likely ends up in the silt on the bottom of the stream. The absolute worst case scenario is that it causes a moral panic and the EPA over-regulates some industry again. Nincompoopery. -- Scott Loveless Cigarette-free since December 14th, 2008 http://www.twosixteen.com/fivetoedsloth/ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
