Radiographic darkroom

Dark room is a place where the necessary

handling and processing of films can be
carried out safely and efficiently, without the
hazard of producing ’film fog’ by accidental
exposure to liph† or x-rays
Complete blackou† is
unnecessary.
Safe illumination is required †o faciIi†a†e
darkroom procedures.

It must exclude all outside light and provide

safe
artificial ligh†.
Darkroom
construction Darkroom
illumination
Darkroom equipments and its
arrangement Health and safety in
processing area
 LOCATIO
N
Centrally located
Serviced by hatches from †he adjacen†
imaging
POOITt
Away from damp or ho† areas
Accessible in †erms of power and wa†er supply
Adjoining viewing room
Completely light proof - no windows
X-ray K-ray
room r0om
3
Cassette
hatch

Darkroo
m

Xf&yr00M
Automatic
I 0C£SS0 f

Viewing
-
area
#tl IT] S 0 * ' < 9

CENTRALLYLOCAYED DAItK
ItOOM
Two ligh† †igh†
and
x-ray proof doors

Both cannot be
opened at the
same time.
Minimum floor area of 10 sq
m
Ceiling heigh† of 2.7 - 3.3 m

Size may be increased depending upon

†he
department needs
Walls adjacent to the radiographic rooms
should be shielded wi†h correc† thickness of
1.6 lead
†he - 2
- mm lead or its
equivalent 25mm high quality
barium plaster 225 mm †hick
single brick wall 150 mm thick
concrete
X-ray apparatus in †he adjacen† room should be
properly placed - primary beam never be
directed at the darkroom wall.
Radioactive materials should be s†ored
as remotely as possible fromthe
darkroom.
 FLOO
R
Non-porous
Non-slippery
Chemical resis†an†
S†ain proof
Durable ó easy †o
main†ain
Ligh† coloured
(low-ligh† working
condi†ions)
Asphal† †iles
Porcelain
tiles Clay
†iIes
Plastic †iIes
may beadjacent
Walls used to the sinks and wet
in †he dry
processing
dark-roomsshould be pro†ec†ed †o 1.3 m
equipmen†
heigh†
 WALLS& CEILING
Light in colour to reflect as much light
as possible onto the working surface
A glossy cream or whi†e pain†(†o ob†ain
as much
as reflected ligh† as possible).
Good quality pain†, non-flaking
Easy †o wipe or clean
Covered wi†h chemical resis†an† materials
Special pain†s, varnish, ceramic or plastic
wall
Ceiling should be a† least 2.7 m high
Non-flaking emulsion pain†
Any wa†er pipes, electric cables or AC duc†s †o
be enclosed above a false ceiling
 VENCL ND HEACNG
A isfactory.wo
Sat
for the staff o d tions
Adequate processing
conditions Efficien† au†oma†ic
processor performance
Adequate removal of stale
humid air and supply of fresh
air Intake acd extract facs can
be
used
Relative humidity is maintained a† around 40-60

Room temperature maintained between 18-

20 depree celsius

A minimum of 5 - 10 air changes per

hour

Minimum of 1000 cu.ft.

airspace/person
All of †hese conditions can be achieved by using a
good air-conditioning sys†em

Exhaust fan if used are provided with a cowl

on the outside light proof and protect
against wind pressures
Single door
system
Double door sys†em

Maze and Labyrinth

Revolving door
system
Latch or lock
from inside
Capable of
releasing the lock
from outside in Oarkroom
case of emergency
Emergencyexit
IdeoJly no one
should work alone in
a dark
f°OOtTI
 Double door light lock
entrance to darkroom

Automatic
processor
Double doa c'ked doors

DARKROCM
E/JTRAN HAL
CE L

DA F X R OO
k1
LABYRINTH TYPE ENTRANCE
Ligh† is reflected a† leas† 3
†imes. In†ensi†y is reduced †o
a harmless level.

Black pain† for †he interior of

the passages
Ma†† block pa‹nt

Vertical heigh†— 2m

Length - not less than 3

m
Width - not more than
700mm

Safelamps fi††ed along

Advac†ages of labyrinth:

Easy and instant access to dark

room No hazard to single-handed
operator Allows for fresh air †o
come in
REVOLV ENTRANC
I E
•3 fee† in
diameter.
•Extend
Wâl s
l obou†15"
in†o each
adjoining
F'OOIT\.

•Lightproof
access to
the room.
"AOO
DARK
R
•Whi†eligh†in"g

• Safeligh†ing
 For inspection & maintenance of casse††es
s&creen
s
Cleaning of work surfaces

Servicing of equipmen†, changing solutions

Sited close †o †he ceiling : Preferably centrally
placed

Moderate in intensity (60w tungsten,

30w
fluorescent )
•A source of ligh† which will no† fog †he films and s†ilI
provide adequate illumination under processing conditions.

•Consis†s of a lamp fixture in which a pearl bulb of 25

W is used wi†h a colored fil†er placed in Iron† of †he
bulb
•However no safe light is completely safe depends
on wavelength /color , in†ensi†y of ligh† and duration of exposure.
Color of the filter depends upon the
sensitivity
of †he
Eg: x-ray
Kodak film
GS-1fiI†er wi†h green sensitive
Ortho-G film
Usually brown or olive-green lighting is used -
represents region of the spectrum for which we
have greatest visual sensitivity a† low levels of
illumination
Two
†ypes :
Direc† safe lighting

Indirec† safe lighting

Direc† safe lighting : ligh† from
safe lamp directly falls onto the
work surface
Minimum distance of 1.2 m (4
feet) from the working surface
Best for loading & unloading
areas
Indirec† safe lighting : directs †he ligh†
towards †he ceiling which reflects liph†
back in†o †he room
Is intended to provide general illumination
of
†he dark room
Suspended atleast 2.1 m above floor level
One for every 6.5 m2 of floor space
 Safe lamp both
irect
indirec† illumination

Filters on both upper ànd

lower surface
 Combination Safeligh†

Combination Safeligh† is a
unique †wo-compor†men†
uni† features a safel‹ghtat
the bottom and a normal
room lipht at the top
Sheet of gelatin dyed to the appropriate
colour and sandwiched between two sheets of
glass for protection
Used in conjunction wi†h a 25 W lamp
Extremes of heat and moisture
deteriorates
†he fil†er gelatin
Should be cleaned periodically
 TESTINGFOR THE SAFETY OF
SAFELIGHT
WHEN IS TESTING REQUIRED2

Darkroom is a new one

Safelightshave been changed
New method or technique
If a particular lamp is
suspec† as causing fogging
Film is subjected to very small exposure,
enough
just †o cause graying
In the darkroom, one half is covered with
black paper and other half exposed in the
safelight Film is processed
If uncovered portion is darker, darkroom
lighting is no† safe.
 Darkroom
equipment
With au†oma†ic
Au†oma†ic Manual processing unit
processor Loading bench For
Loading bench film storage -
hopper/drawers/
For film storage
cupboards.
-
hopper/drawers/ Cassette racks
cupboards. Cassette
Cassette racks hatches
Cassette Darkroom sink
hatches Hangers for
suspending
film
Processing
 PROCESSING
APPARATUS
1. MANUAL PROCESSING

2. AUTOMATIC
PROCESSING
Roo Ddrk-
(iiqhted)
m oom
PFOCOssar (snfełi
qhțedł

Through †he wall position for «n automatic

MANU Ul’ś lIT

MA
.

ARRAY OF TANKS FOR MANUAL PROCESSING

 The loading bench:
Long enough to allow 3-4 cassettes to be
placed
side by side.
Min length 2.5m per operator
600 mm min wid†h
Min 900 mm high
Top - hard wood - †eak covered wi†h linoleum
( easy to clean, hard wearing, anti-static)
Formica is not recommended.
 Film hopper:
Stores the ucexposed films intended for
immediate use
Under †he loading bench
Cone shaped drawer hinged at the lower edge
Inside is painted black
Prominent WARNING should be written on
outside †ha† i† should no† be opened in whi†e ligh†
Instead drawers and cupboards can also be used
to store unused films
rt‹ĘOR THE STORAGE
OF
POSED FILMS
 Cassette ha†ch : Two fight tight andx-
ray doors
proof

< Shou)d open on the

loading bench.
< Interlocking device to
preven† bo†h doors from
being opened
simultaneously
- Light proof
Must also be proof
agains† x-rays
Two compartments -
labelled 'exposed’ and
’unexposed‘ on e‹ther
side
bARK ROOM TE
M
fmhoppz
r

Casse††e rack : S†ores †he loaded cassettes.

 I-ray
totm 2
Cassette Cassette
hatch Watch

Lozönj
b9ncheVCupboards
Dup!!‹ation/
PIJ bîf4Cti0ri

D6r È f00m
Stored on metal wall brackets
Each one projects about 230 mm from the
and
wall can hold max 12 hangers
Two brackets should be placed 100 mm
apart from each other
Heigh† of abou† 750 mm from †he
workbench
Hangers
used
duri
DIFFERENT
TYPES

-Channel
hangers

-Tension
hangers

-Hanger bars
and clip Tension hangers
 The darkroom
sink
Placed adjacent to the processing unit
Sink should be about 250 mm deep, and 750
x 450 mm in i†s o†her dimensions.
Hot and cold water should be supplied
Taps should be a† least 400 mm above †he
sink Cupboards under the sink for storage of
equipments and chemical stocks
Film
Drier
•Films are hung in
their hangers
•Fa« for circula†inp air
•Heoter elements
to worm †he
air
•Drip †ray is provided
beneath
•In†erior safeligh†
 A well planned darkroom should
have
ollowingcharacteristics:
Separationfof dry and wet sections.
• Orderly sequence of events.
Neat layout of the equipment.
• Clear 'trafficlanes’ for the technicians.
DOOF'
Dry
bench

ee ng n s q l * | r
HEALTf-ŒÂŃ1g*ÆS#ETY
IN
THE PROCESSING AREA
ELECTRICAL
SAFETY

GENERAL SAFETY

CHEMICALSAFETY
All electrical equipments to be sited well
away from sinks & manual processing ucits
Adequate earthing of all electrical appliances No
trailing cables from appliances
Pull-cord switching for Iigh†s
GENERAL SAFETY MEASURES
The maximum level of safeligh†ing consisten†
with
film sensi†ivi†y
Adequate ven†ila†ion
Second exits for fire safety
Staff should be advised to read product labels &
mixing ins†ruc†ions before handling solutions
 50

10
C D
Exposed
strips
7 9 mins
I — I st posit ion of cord edge
J 9 min:
2 2 nd

- - - - -
- 3rd
55 cccs 4
4 th
25 secs 5
5 Ih

f0q I i9hl plus

’ Sofe light