Beautician Chemical Exposure 1979 LOHP Working for Your Life

Описание: Services performed by hairdressers include haircutting, cleansing, conditioning, and corrosive treatments for the hair and scalp, as well as treatments designed to hold the hair in place or change its shape, configuration, or color. Cosmetologists also perform other beauty services such as massaging the face and neck with creams and oils, coloring eyebrows and lashes, manicuring fingernails and toenails, and hair removal. Many chemical compounds contained in beauty products (e.g., hairsprays, permanent wave products, dyes, bleaches, etc.) are capable of causing contact dermatitis (skin irritation), respiratory problems including bronchial irritation and occupational asthma, and other symptoms through inhalation or dermal absorption. Contact dermatitis is a well--recognized, and possibly the most frequent, occupational disease among cosmetologists. Dermatitis can seriously inhibit the effectiveness and ability of a beautician to perform the basic services of the profession. Many of the products used by beauticians, including permanent wave solutions and oxidation--type hair coloring preparations, contain both dermal irritants and sensitizers. Occupational asthma has been linked to hairdressers because of some of the chemicals used in the job. Asthma is a lung disorder characterized by reversible obstruction of the lung airway system (bronchial tubes) and causes episodic respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, and cough. In occupational asthma, airway obstruction is caused or made worse by workplace exposure to dusts, fumes, gases, or vapors. Workers in the hairdressing, nail and beauty industry may also be exposed to chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer. For example, Hair smoothing and straightening products may contain or release formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a known cancer-causing substance. Exposure to formaldehyde can also cause eye irritation and damage, including blindness; nose irritation, including bloody noses; skin sensitivity, rashes, and itching; and breathing difficulties, such as coughing and wheezing and asthma. For much more information on this, go to the OSHA webpage at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hairsalons/i... . There is also concern about nail salons -- for more on this, go to the NIOSH webpage at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/manic... . Work involving hazardous substances, such as perming, hair coloring and the application of artificial nails, should occur in a well-ventilated area. Natural ventilation generally does not provide sufficient airflow to be suitable for use as a method for controlling exposure to airborne contaminants, such as chemical vapors, mists and dusts in hairdressing, nail and beauty salons. This is from the wonderful 1979 film, Working for Your Life (58 minutes, Labor Occupational Health Program) explores the health and safety conditions of America's working women by examining the hazards and demands they face in their workplaces. Andrea Hricko and Ken Light, working for LOHP at the time, created this important documentary film. The film is based on the 1976 handbook - Working for Your Life: A Woman's Guide to Job Health Hazards, by Andrea Hricko with Melanie Brunt. A joint publication of Labor Occupational Health Program and Public Citizen's Health Research Group This handbook is available on the internet at http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/28722/b... . Filmed in over 40 workplaces, this film highlights occupations that are both traditional ones for women (such as clerical and hospital workers) and jobs into which women were just beginning to move (such as mining). The film also shows women who are seeking solutions to these job hazards, including a woman who set up a union health and safety committee, women testifying at OSHA hearings, and a woman organizer who is concerned about health hazards in her electronics plant. A copy of the entire film is also posted to this channel. Thanks to LOHP for permission to post this clip. This description and information are mine and not necessarily the views of LOHP.