Airborne Concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Hair Salons Primarily Serving Women of Color

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kavi LK ; Louis LM ; Pool W ; Quirós-Alcalá L ; Ramachandran G ; Randolph K ; Rule AM ; Shao Y ; Thomas S
• Description:
  Hairdressers are exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can pose health risks. Women of color (Black/Latina) represent nearly one-third of all U.S. hairdressers who may be disproportionally exposed to VOCs through occupational and personal use of hair products and treatments specifically formulated for this demographic. Still, data on workplace VOC exposures in this workforce remains sparse. We conducted area air monitoring of 14 VOCs in three salons serving Black women ("Black salons"), three Dominican salons predominantly serving Latino and Black women and 10 office spaces using active integrated sampling across 8-hour work shifts. Most VOCs measured were detected in hair salons (n = 13) and offices (n = 11). Salons had median VOC concentrations 2-175 times higher than offices. Among salons, 95th percentile VOC concentrations were up to 187 times higher in Black salons than in Dominican salons, suggesting that elevated exposures may occur partly from differences based on product use, services rendered, and salon characteristics (e.g., cleaning practices, ventilation). This is the first study to report indoor air concentrations of multiple individual targeted VOCs in U.S. hair salons serving women of color, highlighting the need for comprehensive exposure studies and assessment of potential health risks in this understudied and overexposed workforce. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Volatile Organic Compounds
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Volatile Organic Compounds Black Hairdressers Hair Salons IAQ Indoor Air Quality Indoor Environments Latina Occupational Exposure Salon Exposures VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds

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• ISSN:
  2771-5949
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  17
• Volume:
  3
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070255
• Citation:
  J Environ Expo Assess 2024 Sep; 3(3):17
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, Department of Environmental Health & Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
• Email:
  lalcala1@jhu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ba3abd0f7c9a3456406226ac977e146e7f7b87c14c0bd8354f252842ca6733617ac32e60546b77175ab79a5b06c7a8da53448e20403a1204b549214f45d7f35e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208503/cdc_208503_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.17 MB ]