Chemicals putting nail salon workers at risk
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Oregon health officials say toxic chemicals in nail care products could put Oregon's 14,500 nail salon workers at higher risk of breast cancer or birth defects from inhaling or absorbing the chemicals through the skin.
Most of the nation's nail technicians are women and work with chemicals such as formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate and methyl ethyl ketone. The chemicals are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and long-term health impacts have not been studied.
"The risk is not so much for the person getting the nails done," Melanie Mesaros, spokeswoman for the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division, told the Medford Mail-Tribune. "It's for the women working there all day."
Last year OSHA and other groups banded to spread the word and provide information about minimizing risks, as have other states.
A brochure has been distributed to many salons this year. One suggestion is to use a table with a built-in fan that vents to the outside. These often are required in new salons subject to current building codes.
Nancy Gregory, who works at Beauty Nails II at Medford's Rogue Valley Mall, recalled working in a salon without adequate ventilation. But Beauty Nails takes many of the precautions.
"We have a big circulating fan," said the 45-year-old Medford resident. "It's really clean."
Gregory, who like many nail technicians is Vietnamese, said she wears gloves when necessary and washes her hands frequently.
She said the industry attracts Vietnamese who lack extensive education needed in some other fields. "That's an easy job for us," she said.
Patricia Huback, air toxics coordinator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, said communicating risks to Vietnamese technicians has been a challenge but that some studies suggest a link between the chemicals and breast cancer in Vietnamese women.
The collaborative soon will release a checklist for employers advising them to tell employees to avoid eating where they are mixing chemicals and to properly store them.
The chemicals also are used in beauty salons, but Huback said officials decided to keep the focus on the smaller shops.
Mesaros said OHSA does have some limits on chemical exposure and requires employers to have a full list of chemicals and what precautions are needed to handle them.
In March 2007, OSHA received an anonymous complaint about inadequate ventilation at a Medford-area beauty school, which led to a citation for failing to have a list of chemicals available for their workers.
Mesaros said OSHA investigators may inspect employees' hands to see if they had been overexposed to chemicals.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
