Marin Healthy Nail Salon Project

Patch Readers: 

When we purchase products or services these days, they are often connected to people far away.  Our clothes are made in Bangladesh, Honduras and Cambodia.  Our electronic devices are made in China, Vietnam and India.  Our food products may come from Mexico, Central and South America.  In the worldwide economy, our access to affordable products and services allows us a wide range of choices.  When there is evidence that our choices may put others at risk—through ineffective policies overseas, exploitive work environments and economic attractions to struggling populations—we often respond by making personal decisions about our responsibility to these faraway places and people.

Sometimes these conditions exist much closer to home.  In this country, revelations about hazardous products and actions often drive changes which benefit us all.  One example is the dry cleaning industry.  The awareness of the hazards of volatile organic compounds (Tri- and Perchloroethylene) used in dry cleaning created programs to find and utilize “green” alternatives that protected both workers and consumers.  Substances such as formaldehyde have been eliminated from many building materials in consideration of the health hazards it presents.  Many consumers will seek out “green” businesses in order to avoid exposure to harmful chemicals.  Workers, on the other hand, often have to face economic challenges which take away the choices they might otherwise make about where and how they work.

Cosmetology is the fastest growing profession in California with approximately 115,000 nail salon technicians in the State, and most are women of color.  Of these women, 59-80% is estimated to be Vietnamese immigrants, and more than 50% are of childbearing age.  Many salon workers earn less than $18,200 a year and face cultural and language barriers as well as lack of access to health care.

The Marin Healthy Nail Salon Project addresses some of these workplace issues.  Many nail salon products contain highly toxic, volatile substance.  The worst of these chemicals are considered the “Toxic Trio”—formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).  These products can produce headaches and nausea, irritated eyes, skin and throat, breathing problems, weakness and exhaustion.  Long-term exposure to high concentrations may cause other serious effects—cancer, damage to liver and kidneys and harm to unborn children.  The goal of the Project is to work with salon owners and workers to find non-toxic alternatives to these and other products to create a healthy working environment and to protect consumers from potential health hazards.  The nail salon project is funded by the Marin Community Foundation, First 5 of Marin, and works in collaboration with the California Healthy Nail Salon Project.

If you are interested in learning more about this local initiative, please call the Marin Asian Advocacy Project at 415.491.9677, or Dick McKee at Community Action Marin, 415.526.7519.