X-ray film "Fixer" solution from 1981

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TriciaM

New member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
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1
Back in 1980-1984 or so (I was 10) my father worked in x-ray & brought home truckloads of film to extract the silver from. What I actually remember about the process is how much that stuff burned in a cut and the little machine that collected the muddy looking stuff. Thirty-eight years later, while visiting my mom (where the refining took place) I discovered that on the side of the house remain two 55-gallon blue barrels containing the left-over fixer dad had extracted the silver from. Hard to imagine it's been there that long, WOW! So I carefully removed the cap off the barrel that was only about half full and shined a flashlight in it. What I found is a thick gray sludge about a foot deep. I imagine the completely full barrel has to contain at least twice that. I tried to siphon some out but it seems to dissolve if jostled at all.

I can't imagine that my father could have missed that much silver and am quite curious what the sludge is composed of. Preferably before I find an appropriate method for disposing of these two barrels. :) Just in case Dad did miss some.

Any suggestions on where I might begin researching would be appreciated!

Thank you,

Tricia.
 
Stick a piece of bright copper wire in the solution and leave for 30 seconds. Pull it out, if it has turned silver looking there is still silver there. If not, it's just waste fix that has gotten thick from the water evaporating out over time.
 
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