Growing Nail Salon Collaborations in the Western Region Address Environmental Justice and Health Disparity Issues Faced by Nail Salon Communities

In the United States, the exponential growth of the beauty industry is reflected by the increasing number of nail technicians in the U.S., which has jumped 374 % over the past decade to more than 380,000 nationwide. Nail salon workers are exposed daily to a variety of toxic chemicals with the potential for a variety of negative health impacts. The impact of these exposures are exacerbated by the fact that 96 % of the industry's workforce are female, many who are women of color and of reproductive age and lack access to health care coverage. In response to the growing health and safety concerns faced by nail salon workers, collaboratives in the Western region have been established to proactively address these concerns. The California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, established in 2005, is composed of over twenty public health and environmental advocates, nail salon workers, community-based groups, and allies in government agencies seeking to advance a preventative environmental health agenda to assure the health and safety of the nail and beauty salon communities. The Oregon Collaborative for Healthy Nail Salons (OCHNS) group, formed in 2007, focuses on improving the environmental health of the 14,500 nail salon workers as well as customers through education and outreach. OCHNS is a diverse group comprised of non profit organizations, health professionals, environmental justice organizations, and regulatory agencies. This session will focus on the efforts of these two state collaboratives, illustrating the growing activities across state lines centered on addressing nail salon worker issues.