Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec 1:11:1300677.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1300677. eCollection 2023.

Studying full-shift inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among Latino workers in very small-sized beauty salons and auto repair shops

Nathan Lothrop  1 , Flor Sandoval  2 , Imelda Cortez  2 , Rietta Wagoner  1 , Nicolas Lopez-Galvez  1 , Kimberly Parra  1 , Ann Marie Wolf  2 , Betsy C Wertheim  3 , Carolina Quijada  1 , Amanda Lee  1 , Stephanie Griffin  1 , Melanie Bell  1 , Scott Carvajal  1 , Maia Ingram  1 , Paloma Beamer  1
Affiliations

Studying full-shift inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among Latino workers in very small-sized beauty salons and auto repair shops

Nathan Lothrop et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: One in every 200 US jobs is in a beauty salon or auto repair shop, where workers are regularly exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may cause a range of short- and long-term health issues. In these shops, Latino workers are overrepresented and lack culturally and linguistically appropriate industrial hygiene resources. This leaves a gap in knowledge on inhalation exposures to VOCs in this hard-to-reach and ubiquitous worker population.

Objective: Our goal was to recruit hard-to-reach, predominantly Spanish-speaking workers in beauty salons and auto repair shops and monitor total VOC inhalation exposures for over entire work shifts, with minimal impact on workers, clients, and business.

Methods: We developed and refined measurement and exposure assessment methods for personal and area full-shift VOC inhalation exposures.

Results: With minimal participant loss, we measured over 500 h of real-time, personal VOC exposures and recorded activities and other exposure factors for 47 participants, while also documenting chemical inventories and quantifying indoor area concentrations of specific VOCs among 10 auto repair shops and 10 beauty salons.

Conclusion: Lessons learned from our study can assist future studies of inhalation exposures in other hard-to-reach occupational populations.

Keywords: CBPR; air pollution; community health workers; exposure assessment; occupational health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participants wearing the ppbRAE monitor on a belt and in a sling backpack.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Di Stefano F, Verna N, Di Giampaolo L, Schiavone C, Di Gioacchino G, Balatsinou L, et al. Occupational asthma due to low molecular weight agents. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. (2004) 17:77–82. doi: 10.1177/03946320040170S213 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lehucher-Michel MP, Timone H, Moulin P, Magnan A, Lehucher-Michel MP. Case study occupational allergic contact dermatitis and asthma due to a single low molecular weight agent. J Occup Health. (2009) 51:91–6. doi: 10.1539/joh.L7110 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ma CM, Lin LY, Chen HW, Huang LC, Li JF, Chuang KJ. Volatile organic compounds exposure and cardiovascular effects in hair salons. Occup Med. (2010) 60:624–30. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqq128, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Badjagbo K, Loranger S, Moore S, Tardif R, Sauvé S. BTEX exposures among automobile mechanics and painters and their associated health risks. Hum Ecol Risk Assess. (2010) 16:301–16. doi: 10.1080/10807031003670071 - DOI
    1. Rennix CP, Quinn MM, Amoroso PJ, Eisen EA, Wegman DH. Risk of breast Cancer among enlisted Army women occupationally exposed to volatile organic compounds. Am J Ind Med. (2005) 48:157–67. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20201, PMID: - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Substances