[GH85Carrera]

I mixed chemicals all the time for the different processors. Most had some stink, but not too bad.

The one chemical that was just over the top, clear the building bad was the "starter" for the chemical bleach for the color negatives. Without out getting into the steps of processing color negatives, the second chemical after the developer was a chemical that was very brownish orange in color, and it stopped the development and then bleached the silver halide and dyes to make the colors. All the chemical would be slowly consumed, so they were replenished with a small dose of fresh replenisher.

If the processor was emptied, and filled with fresh chemicals it had to be seasoned. Kodak sold the stuff to put into a fresh batch of replenisher to make it the proper strength.

The starter for the bleach was some bad super mean stinky stuff. It made a skunk smell like nice expensive perfume. When I started the film processor the first time, I made sure to do it in the evening after everyone left. I put on a rubber apron, thick rubber gloves, face shield, and a paper dust mask which was a waste of time. I then hyperventilated until I was about to pass out, held my breath, opened the bottle and poured in the few oz into a beaker to measure it, and then pour it into the chemical tank. It made the skin on my arms tingle in an unpleasant way, and my eyes watered. I rinsed it real quick, and ran to the front of the building. I threw the rubber apron, mask and other gear on the floor and bolted out of the building. I had turned on all the AC fans to run all night. The next morning it still reeked, and we opened the front and back doors to get some fresh air into the building. I made sure that tank never needed to be dumped and started for the 25+ years we had the place.