Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115617

Tam Doan, MCP, New Ecology Inc., 130 Bishop Allen Drive, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, (617) 354-4099, mt.doan@gmail.com and Madeline Fraser Cook, MCP, New Ecology, Inc., 130 Bishop Allen Dr, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139.

This initiative aimed to build an infrastructure and iterative process for implementing toxics use reduction in Vietnamese-owned nail salons. After conducting a search for safer or less toxic products on the market, New Ecology, Inc. (NEI) developed a framework for evaluating their desirability for introduction into salons. This framework drew upon research and the expertise of both technical experts and salon owners and technicians. Salon owners and technicians also sampled products to test their performance. Collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, the Vietnamese-American Initiative for Development and Pioneer Valley Project were key in gathering information and building relationships with key Vietnamese stakeholders. This presentation summarizes major findings from this pilot and discusses challenges and opportunities for introducing less toxic products and processes into Vietnamese-owned nail salons.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to list the names of two alternative products. Participants can articulate key challenges and opportunities to reducing toxics use in salons.

Keywords: Immigrant Women, Environmental Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation