Exposure of hairdressing apprentices to airborne hazardous substances

Abstract

BackgroundFew studies have investigated exposure of hairdressing apprentices to airborne irritants. This study describes exposure levels of apprentices to chemical products used in hairdressing salons in relation with their activity.MethodsFollowing a two stages study design, a group of 300 students completed a questionnaire on their work activities and environment. Among these, a group of 28 subjects volunteered to undergo personal exposure and workplace concentrations measurements over a work shift, during a cold and a hot season, with the agreement of the salon owners. Three chemical substances were studied (ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and persulfates) because they are respiratory tract irritants and because their concentrations could be quantified within a 5 to 8 hour shift period.ResultsPersonal exposure values for H2O2and NH3 (averages [standard deviations] are 0.05 [0.04] and 0.90 [0.76] mg.m-3, respectively) were greater than workplace ambient air concentrations (corresponding values of 0.04 [0.03] and 0.68 [0.42] mg.m-3) for H2O2 and NH3, with no significant seasonal variation. By contrast, workplace concentrations of persulfates (0.019 [0.018] mg.m-3) were greater than personal exposure (0.016 [0.021] mg.m-3, a finding that is consistent with the fact that bleaching is more often undertaken by senior hairdressers. However, all exposure values were lower than the current TLV TWA values. This study also shows that over half of technical spaces where chemical substances used for dying, permanenting or bleaching are manipulated, have no ventilation system, and not even a door or a window opening outside.ConclusionThe study hairdressing salons, on average, were small, the most probable reason why occupational hygiene measures such as appropriate ventilation were too seldom implemented. As a consequence, young apprentices and senior hairdressers experience substantial exposure to known airways irritants.

Airborne exposure to chemical substances in hairdresser salons

“…Nevertheless, three of the chemicals were recognized carcinogens; benzene, dichloromethane and ethylbenzene (International Agency on Research on Cancer Monographs 1999; Sorahan et al 2005;Descatha et al 2005) four are suspected to have adverse effects on reproduction; hexane, benzene, metoxypropanol, and toluene (Gold and Tomich 1994;Wennborg et al 2005) and some are possible allergens; diethyl phthalate and limonene (Matura et al 2002;Bornehag et al 2004). Although lower than current occupational limit values, these exposures might be of health significance (Mounier-Geyssant et al 2006), especially since many compounds are present at the same time. This might be of major importance for these workers as the limits values are given for the individual compounds and not for mixtures like found in the salons.…”

“…A chemical treatment was defined as performing bleaching, dying or permanent waving of the hair of a customer. As it is known that dying is more frequent, we asked the hairdressers at the salons for the labels of products used for dying hair (Anderson 2000;Mounier-Geyssant et al 2006). For the exposure evaluation we selected organic compounds and ammonia because they were present in many products used in the hairdressing salons in Alicante.…”

“…Although several investigations describe health problems among hairdressers that might be related to their occupation, and possibly to chemical exposures ( Van der Wal et al 1997;Leino et al 1998;Gago-Dominguez et al 2001;Hollund et al 2001;Kersemaekers et al 1997;Albin et al 2002) very few studies are published showing chemical exposure levels in hairdressing salons (Muiswinkel et al 1997;Hollund and Moen 1998;Leino et al 1999;Labreche et al 2003;Mounier-Geyssant et al 2006). They focus on the determination of certain chemicals, finding different exposure profiles and point out the importance of the local exhaust ventilation.…”

“…In Spain, as in other parts of the world, the customers attend to the salons for different chemical treatments of their hair. Hair dyes represent the largest segment of the chemical products in the hair market today, more than permanent oils and bleaching powders (Anderson 2000;Mounier-Geyssant et al 2006). Therefore the hair dyes are the main potential source of chemical exposure among the hairdressers.…”

Exposure Assessment in Nail Salons: An Indoor Air Approach

“…Recruitment of participants was potentially burdened by language and other social and economic barriers. Even when language issues are overcome, salon owners may fear that the presence of researchers will disrupt or discourage business or attract unwanted regulatory attention [24]. Salon staff may fear negative publicity that might impact their ability to earn a living [25,26].…”