There was a long discussion about the toxicity of pyrocatechol, after a question I posted a while ago. The verdict was not bad, I think that in general everyine agreed that although it is more dangerous than metol, it is not as toxic as some people imagine and could be handled safely if some basic precautions are taken. You can try and find the original thread in this forum's archive. I handle Dixactol with gloves on and try not to breathe over the tank that contains it. The results that I get are very satisfying, with most films. It failed developing Tri-X correctly, though, and this was explained on this forum also by Barry Thornton (the "father" of Dixactol) as a result of a bad combination (two bath Dixactol and Tri-X don't go toghether). The classic Ilford films that you mention (FP4, HP5) come out great. Sharpness is very good and so is grain. Pyro users (I mean Pyrogallol) say that it is not as good as their baby, but Pyro users would rather be burned alive by the Spanish Inquisition than say that something is even almost as good as Pyro (I don't use Pyro, but I have seen results of Pyro development and they are REALLY good). I would recommend you to use Dixactol, since you don't want to mix up powders and Dixactol is really easy to mix and very convenient to use. Barry Thornton's advice is to use it as a single bath formula, though (which is an option that you can take), losing some of the compensating action but still getting all the rest and some more security on the result (the two bath fomula can give you some unpleasant surprises...).(posted 8178 days ago)Emofin is good for push processing without losing so much shadow detail. You can also use it for correctly exposed negs, but you should dilute it with two times more water to obtain normal density and contrast. Don't stay on the dev. times recommended by Tetenal, experiment a bit and you shall be satisfied.