It will capture the contaminate emissions at the source and exhaust them outside. 3. Ventilation systems are very important for health and safety. They are extremely expensive to run 24/7. A solution is a fixed gas detector in rooms where the products are stored and used. When the level of gas emitted hits a preset level, the ventilation system will automatically turn on. Salon preventative actions 1. Try to order services preformed to reduce exposure. An example would be to cut client’s hair before a color services to reduce the exposure of your hands to the hair color. 2. Use fewer products and smaller amounts of the products while performing services. 3. Consider limiting the salon services offered. Especially if there are known hazards from the service or chemicals used. Nail safety practices 1. Wear long sleeves to protect the arms. 2. Wear knee length pants or skirts to protect the lap from dust and spills. 3. Wash hands before and after clients, and before eating and drinking. 4. Wear goggles and disposable gloves. 5. Replace gloves if they become torn or cut or develop holes. 6. Cover and protect cuts and cracks in the skin. Damaged skin can increase absorption and exposure. Respiratory protection 1. Do not use surgical masks. These types of masks do not protect from breathing in gases, vapors or particulates. Filtering facepiece respirators called N95 or dust masks. Protects from particulates in the air, like dust, viruses and germs. These are good for use when buffing nails, filing nails and using acrylic powder. They do not protect from vapors and gas or hazardous chemicals. 2. Half facepiece elastomeric respirators with cartridges. Protects from hazardous vapors and gas. Used when moving chemicals from large to small bottles and cleaning up spills.
5. Use nail polish removers free of butyl acetate, methyl acetate, or ethyl acetate. 6. Use nail polish thinners free of toluene or methyl ethyl ketone. 7. Use hairsprays labeled as “low VOC formulas.” 8. Use pump sprays rather than aerosols. 9. Use hair straighteners free of formaldehyde or methylene glycol. Safe work practices 1. Make sure the safety data sheets (SDS) are available to workers. 2. Use only the amount of product needed to perform each service. Don’t keep extra product at the workstation if possible. 3. Close bottles tightly when not in use so product does not spill or get into the air. 4. Follow instructions for the safe way of disposing the used chemicals and containers. 5. Use metal trash cans with tight lids to keep the fumes from getting into the air. 6. Always keep food and drinks covered in workstations. 7. Keep product off skin and out of eyes by wearing gloves and goggles 8. Wash hands after every use. ○ Be sure to label chemicals that are moved from larger bottles to smaller ones. ○ Do not put chemicals down the drain, sink or toilet. 9. Increase employee training and ensure all the training aids are provided for all workers. Ventilation systems 1. Dilution ventilation system. These are effective for small dispersed contaminant sources. It can dilute contaminated air by blowing in clean air and exhausting the dirty air out. This will not completely remove the contaminants and is not used for highly toxic chemicals. 2. Local exhaust ventilation system. These will remove airborne contaminants at the source before they can be breathed in.
REGULATIONS
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the regulatory agency that establishes and enforces the standards for workplace safety. OSHA enforces permissible exposure limits for chemicals that workers may be exposed to in a salon or manufacturing facility. They provide resources, training, education and assistance to promote workplace safety. They maintain the permissible exposure limits (PELs), for key chemicals of concern commonly found in nail and hair salon products to protect against chronic health hazards. Additional research is needed on hazardous exposure for salon workers to better understand the potential impacts and come up with better protective strategies. Specifically, research is needed on strategies to reduce the exposure to toxic chemicals and safer alternatives, the impacts of multiple chemical exposures, and on individual sensitivity and genetic sensitivity to salon chemicals and salon environments. Salon safety is mostly a matter of the manufacturer’s responsibility to create and produce effective salon products that do not impair the air quality or have adverse health conditions. With this being said, it is mostly the salon owners and workers responsibility to protect their health. They need to look for alternative strategies and preventative actions to work in a safer environment and protect their health. an important role in creating a healthier salon and work environment. The salon can be a very hazardous place to work. It is up to the salon worker to know the risks associated with certain salon services and products.
By law, all cosmetic products, including salon products, that are sold in United States must be free of poisonous or deleterious substances that might harm users under conditions of normal use. But, with that being said, there are limited legal tools to enforce this law. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the regulatory authority over the cosmetics industry. The FDA has admitted that it does not review or approve nail products and or cosmetics before they go on the market. The Food, Drug and Cosmetics act contain no provisions that require evidence of the safety of ingredients in cosmetic products prior to their marketing. These legal loopholes make it hard to prevent cosmetic products containing harmful chemicals from being marketed. This is even when there is evidence of harm from the product. There is also no requirement that ingredients in salon products be disclosed. Federal occupational safety laws do exist, however there is no capacity to enforce occupational safety and health in the salons on the federal level. The state cosmetology and barbering boards are left to regulate these restrictions.
Conclusion Salons can be a hazardous place to work due to the multiple daily exposures to chemicals. By utilizing the best practices including using fewer toxic products, better ventilation, and protective equipment, it is possible to decrease the chance of the adverse health effects. Manufacturer’s, lawmakers, government agencies, salon owners and workers all play
Book Code: CFL1024
Page 6
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