This work presents the results for the temperature dependence of the photobleaching reactions of Fluorescein and Rose Bengal dissolved in poly(vinyl alcohol) in the presence of diethylenetriamine, potassium dichromate and 2-aminoethanethiol hydrochloride. These samples were subjected to a continuous irradiation with a 150 W mercury high pressure are lamp at a wavelength coincident with the maximum of the dye absorption. The photobleaching processes were described by a double exponential and a mono-exponential function for Fluorescein and Rose Bengal, respectively. Apparent activation energies were calculated using the Arrhenius plots and these Values were strongly affected by the presence of additives. Different additives are employed in the studies of the photobleaching reactions of Fluorescein and Rose Bengal in poly(vinyl alcohol) matrices: (a) diethylenetriamine is a quencher of all excited states; (b) potassium dichromate is an electron acceptor complexed with the polymer chains and inhibited the photobleaching; (c) 2-aminoethanethiol hydrochloride is an efficient quencher of the triplet state. The role of these additives upon the photoreaction is discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.13941700187197