Do symptomatic radiographers provide evidence for 'darkroom disease'?

Non-controlled studies performed in New Zealand and the UK reported a high incidence of a large number of symptoms within radiographers. The authors of these investigations proposed that these symptoms resulted from exposure to X-ray processing chemicals and the associated fumes, and collectively labelled the condition 'darkroom disease'. The absence of control groups in these investigations weakens the 'darkroom disease' hypothesis. The current work set out to address this deficiency. Forty percent of radiographers (n = 295) and 40% of physiotherapists (n = 250) working in 34% of Irish hospitals (n = 31) were asked if they experienced any of the 15 symptoms described in 'darkroom disease'. The results demonstrated that radiographers had a significantly higher incidence than physiotherapists for only two of the symptoms--bad taste (P < 0.0001) and sore eyes (P < 0.001). These higher incidences were confined to three of the 31 hospitals surveyed. Physiotherapists expressed a higher incidence for sore throats (P < 0.01) and nasal discharge (P < 0.01). These results clearly demonstrate that radiographers are no more symptomatic than a group of hospital staff not exposed to processing chemicals. The current findings offer no support for the 'darkroom disease' hypothesis.