For No Silver Lining, we tested the food and beverage contents of 50 cans collected from 19 U.S. states and Ontario, Canada. The report reveals that BPA is a routine contaminant in canned foods. Our study details potential exposure to BPA from not just one can, but from meals prepared with canned food and drink that an ordinary North American person might consume over the course of a day.

It shows that meals involving one or more cans of food can cause a pregnant woman to ingest levels of BPA that have been shown to cause health effects in developing fetuses in laboratory animal studies.

Our findings quantify exposure through only one BPA source–canned foods. Other potential routes of exposure to BPA include air, dust, and water, common products like polycarbonate water and baby bottles, 5-gallon water coolers, and printer inks, toners and thermal receipt paper (used by most gas stations and supermarkets), where BPA can rub off paper onto our hands and into our mouths.

Exposure of animals to low doses of BPA has been linked to cancer, abnormal behavior, diabetes and heart disease, infertility, developmental and reproductive harm, obesity, and early puberty, a known risk factor for breast cancer.

We know exposures to low doses can be harmful, and we know BPA is on our bodies. Independent, peer-reviewed scientific studies have found harm from low doses of BPA occurring at the same or similar levels found in the general population, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC found BPA in the urine of 93% of the U.S. population. The Environmental Working Group found BPA in the cord blood of newborn babies.

Disinfectant Overkill

In most cases, quats are overkill for your everyday household cleaning needs. We know from lab testing that quats do effectively kill many kinds of microbes like E. Coli and Staph. Aureus – but there are serious potential side effects that comes along with that power. It’s like killing a housefly with a sledgehammer – there is no question the sledgehammer will be very effective (with a direct hit) but the side effects (the gaping holes in your wall) are pretty unpleasant, not to mention unnecessary. Because while quats do kill germs on surfaces, studies of quat use in households have never been able to show that it makes you or your family any healthier than if you used soap and water. Meanwhile the harm chemicals like quats are doing to our health and the environment is real.

Safer Choices

Giving up the use of cleaners with quats doesn’t mean having dirtier spaces. There are numerous effective, inexpensive and commonly used non-antibacterial cleaners which can make places spotless and prevent the spread of illness. In fact, both the CDC and the FDA prioritize cleaning with regular soap and water to keep spaces healthy. If you choose to use a disinfectant for a specific need – look for safer alternatives that do not contain quats, including those with active ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide, lactic acid or thymol. Or consider simply using vinegar, or non-disinfectant wipes (like baby wipes) which are equally convenient for cleaning up small messes, and wiping off surfaces quickly.

Here are links to finding safer institutional cleaning products:

Fact Sheets

• Fact Sheet on Dangers of Quats with Citations to Scientific Studies
  • (Simplified version available here)
  • Español – El Enfoque del Exceso de Desinfectantes en los “Cuates”
• Avoiding Quats and Finding Safer Alternatives
• Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Cleaning Products: Health & Safety Information for Cleaners and Supervisors
• Information from CA Public Health Department
  • Disinfectants and Work-related Asthma: Information for Employers
  • Health & Asthma-Safer Cleaning in the Classroom: Information for Teachers
  • From the San Francisco Department of the Environment: Safer COVID-19 cleaning products and disinfectants
• Information from WA State Department of Health on cleaning products in schools
  • Classroom Cleaning Tips for Teachers
  • School Supply List: Guidance for Healthy Classrooms

Sample Letters

• Sample letter to principal of a school
• Sample letter to owner of a gym

READ and SHARE BLOGS

• Quats and Back-To-School: What You Need to Know
• Helping Teachers Take on Quats
• What Are Quats and Why Are They a Problem?
• Quats in Public Spaces: Are you being exposed and what to do about it
• FLYER: #QuitQuats guide for parents and teachers
• Concerns About Disinfectant Foggers, Misters, Electrostatic Sprayers

The beauty service industry has undergone dramatic growth over the last two decades, and the cosmetology industry has become one of the fastest growing professions in California, largely influenced by the emergence of the manicurist specialty.  Currently, there are nearly 37,000 nail establishments, nearly triple the number in the 1980’s, and approximately 400,000 technicians who are licensed to perform hair and nail care services in California alone.  The vast majority of nail salon workers are women of color, with Vietnamese immigrants representing a large proportion of the workforce (estimated 60-80%) in the state.

The health and safety of workers in this industry have increasingly attracted public attention due to the concerns associated with ingredients found in personal care products. Nail care products contain, in varying amounts, many toxic and potentially hazardous ingredients, and are largely unregulated in the U.S.  In fact, of the 10,500 chemicals used in personal care products, including nail care products, nearly 90% have not been assessed for safety.  While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for the regulation of cosmetics, it lacks the legal authority to require manufacturers to conduct pre-market testing of their products to ensure safety of salon workers and consumers.   Worker exposures to toxic chemicals in salons are exacerbated by poorly-labeled products, limited safety information, small workplaces, and inadequate ventilation.    The combination of hazardous chemicals, inadequate ventilation, lagging regulatory standards and enforcement, and a large immigrant workforce with cultural and language barriers underscore the need for research to understand the health impacts associated with working in this industry.

In response to growing health concerns and the dearth of existing research, the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (Collaborative), in partnership with Women’s Voices of the Earth (WVE), the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), and the National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance (Alliance), organized a multi-stakeholder convening in April 2009 to discuss the state of the science on occupational chemical exposures of cosmetology workers and resulting health effects, with the intention to inform and build upon current efforts in California and nationally to develop a proactive research and advocacy agenda for the salon sector.  Held in Oakland, California, the convening attracted over 120 researchers, scientists, environmental, public health and labor advocates, nail salon workers and owners, cosmetologists, industry members, regulatory representatives, and public health experts.

The following report provides an overview of the convening’s discussions, proceedings, key outcomes, and the recommendations that were collectively developed by the convening’s participants over the course of the two-day meeting.  Key recommendations formulated during the convening are listed below:

• Establish a national research advisory committee to provide technical guidance on future research efforts to advance a proactive research agenda.

• Explore ways to advance green chemistry efforts, including understanding barriers (e.g., information data gaps, safety and accountability gaps, and technology gaps); advocating for product reformulation; and incentivizing product manufacturers and beauty salons to adopt “greener” products,

• Develop a health surveillance program for tracking health problems in the cosmetology workforce, including hair and nail care professionals.

• Advocate for more affordable and accessible health care for salon workers who often lack health benefits.

• Promote research that investigates the cumulative and synergetic impacts of occupational exposure to multiple chemical compounds through multiple routes of exposure in salons over long periods of time.

• Advocate for more accessible information to workers by: 1) ensuring that material safety and data sheets (MSDS) of salon products are made more easily readable and accessible and are translated into multiple languages, and 2) ensuring more (detailed) labeling of salon products so workers will know what compounds they contain and the corresponding safety precautions to take.

• Develop and implement culturally and linguistically appropriate health and outreach interventions that focus on worker exposure reduction, including: personal protective equipment (i.e., proper masks and gloves); improved ventilation; use of safer product alternatives with least-toxic compounds; and safer handling of products.

• Promote more comprehensive education outreach programs that include labor and worker rights issues in education and outreach efforts, such as reviewing the (mis)classification of nail salon workers as independent contractors, which results in workers not being eligible for health benefits.

• Push for changes and greater transparency in how salon inspections are conducted by regulatory agencies, with regards to regulations, fines, process, worker/owner responsibilities, and dispute resolution.

The report also provides select resources and a compilation of research on occupational exposures in salons.

The California Health Nail Salon Collaborative and the National Alliance for Healthy Nail Salons are committed to strategically advancing the health, safety and workers’ rights of the beauty salon sector. Towards those ends, we invite diverse partnership and collaboration from organizations and agencies in California and nationally.

Glossed Over Report: Health Hazards Associated with Toxic Exposure in Nail Salons

Toxic Hazards in the Nail Salon

Three top ingredients of concern in many nail products are toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) which have been linked to both reproductive harm and cancer. A survey conducted by Environmental Working Group in 2005 found eight brands of nail products contained formaldehyde, five contained formaldehyde resin, 37 contained toluene, and 89 contained dibutyl phthalate.

Toluene is a clear colorless liquid that acts as a solvent. It is found in many nail products, as it helps suspend the pigment throughout the liquid and helps form the smooth finish across the nail. Toluene is volatile and evaporates into the air as nail polish dries. Exposure to toluene can affect the central nervous system with low level symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and fatigue. Toluene is also an irritant to the eyes, nose and throat.

At very high exposures, toluene has been found to be toxic to the kidneys and liver, and is a possible reproductive or developmental toxin. Toluene can be transmitted through the placenta to a fetus, and can be transmitted through breastmilk. The most common route of exposure to toluene for adults is through inhalation, although dermal exposure is also possible.

Formaldehyde is an odiferous chemical commonly used in resins and as a preservative. It is found in some nail products as a nail hardener and to help create a smooth finish. Formaldehyde is an irritant to the eyes, nose and throat, and exposure can lead to coughing and wheezing. Repeated skin exposure can lead to skin irritation and an allergic rash called dermatitis. It is also a known human carcinogen.5 People are exposed to formaldehyde by breathing it in, although it can also be absorbed through the skin.

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a chemical used in a variety of consumer products as a plasticizer. In personal care products it adds flexibility, a moisturizing sheen and helps dissolve other cosmetic ingredients. It has been commonly found in nail polish. DBP is a possible reproductive or developmental toxin. Phthalate exposure occurs through inhalation, absorption through skin and ingestion in food.

Other Toxic Compounds. A myriad of other toxic compounds are associated with nail salons. Several strong solvents such as acetone and alcohols are used to remove nail polish. Exposure to these solvents can lead to nose, throat, lung, skin and eye irritation, as well as headaches, dizziness and confusion. Acrylic nail application leads to exposure to nail dusts and acrylic polymers such as methyl methylacrylate (MMA) and ethyl methylacrylate (EMA). The FDA restricted the use of 100 percent MMA in nail products in the U.S. in 1974 due to its toxicity. It was replaced by the less toxic EMA. Anecdotal reports indicate that MMA may still be in use in some salons as it is a significantly less expensive chemical.7 Both EMA and MMA have a very strong odor even at low concentrations and are irritating to the eyes and respiratory system. They are also sensitizers, which means that people exposed over time can become allergic with reactions that include asthma and dermatitis.

Divulgación: Ingredientes en Productos de Salón y Salud y Seguridad de los Trabajadores de Salón

Publicado en marzo de 2023 INFORME
English –EXPOSED: Ingredients in Salon Products & Salon Worker Health and Safety

Este informe revisó una imagen de ciertos productos de salón profesional actualmente disponibles en las tiendas de artículos de belleza de California para investigar qué tan bien los fabricantes están cumpliendo con estas nuevas leyes, para ayudar a identificar importantes tendencias de ingredientes y divulgación, y para enfatizar aún más lo que ahora sabemos sobre los productos químicos que se encuentran en estos productos profesionales.

Los trabajadores de salones son especialmente vulnerables a las exposiciones tóxicas en el salón. Trabajan día tras día con productos de salón, estando más expuestos que el usuario de productos cosméticos. Los trabajadores de salón son por lo general mujeres, personas de color y, a menudo, son de bajos ingresos, lo que significa que la exposición a productos químicos tóxicos en el lugar de trabajo del salón agrava la miríada de otras amenazas a su salud que ya enfrentan relacionadas directamente con el género, la raza, la situación económica, el acceso a la atención médica de calidad y más. Como resultado, los estudios muestran que los trabajadores de salones sufren tasas significativamente más altas de enfermedades y afecciones crónicas de salud como asma, afecciones de la piel, complicaciones del embarazo y algunos tipos de cáncer que se comparan con otras ocupaciones. Se necesitan medidas urgentes para prevenir estos resultados negativos para la salud, muchos de los cuales son evitables, comenzando por garantizar que los productos profesionales del salón sean seguros y saludables para los trabajadores del salón.

Nuestra investigación descubrió que los productos de salón profesional todavía contienen en gran medida ingredientes que han sido documentados como peligrosos para los trabajadores del salón durante décadas. Identificamos muy poca innovación en la industria de productos de salón para reemplazar los productos químicos peligrosos con alternativas inherentemente más seguras. En cambio, observamos que, en muchos casos, cuando se incluyeron productos químicos peligrosos en los productos, los fabricantes incluyeron instrucciones de seguridad poco realistas para los usuarios. Las instrucciones de seguridad sugieren evitar la exposición a los productos (como inhalación o contacto con la piel) donde esto sería casi imposible de lograr. Esto pone injustamente la responsabilidad de la seguridad en el trabajador del salón, en lugar de en el fabricante que es responsable de fabricar productos que son seguros de usar. Además, identificamos productos y categorías de productos en los que la divulgación de ingredientes sigue siendo inadecuada o está ausente por completo.

HALLAZGOS CLAVES

• Los productos químicos peligrosos se encuentran en los productos de salón profesional que dañan los pulmones, causan reacciones alérgicas en la piel y están relacionados con el daño reproductivo y el cáncer.
• A pesar de décadas de advertencias sobre estos productos químicos por parte de los funcionarios de salud pública, y el daño conocido a los trabajadores de los salones, muy poca innovación hacia una química más segura es evidente en la industria de productos de salón profesional.
• Los pocos ingredientes nocivos que se han eliminado de los productos han sido sustituidos por sustitutos lamentables.
• Los fabricantes con frecuencia proporcionan instrucciones de seguridad del producto que hacen que sea casi imposible usar productos de una manera que evite daños.
• A pesar de las nuevas leyes que requieren la divulgación de ingredientes, algunos productos de salón todavía se venden sin listados de ingredientes en la etiqueta.

Conclusión:

Asegurar el derecho a saber qué ingredientes se utilizan en los productos es un primer paso importante para transformar la identidad de los productos de salen hacia un futuro más saludable y sostenible. Como resultado de las nuevas leyes (ver más abajo) estamos aprendiendo más que nunca sobre la prevalencia de ingredientes dañinos que se utilizan en productos de salón. Esperamos que esta información brinde a los trabajadores de los salones de belleza una mayor capacidad para evitar ciertos ingredientes o productos que pueden dañar su salud y abogar por lugares de trabajo más seguros y saludables. Es hora de exigir una mayor responsabilidad de la industria de productos de salón para fabricar productos que sean menos tóxicos. La innovación de ingredientes químicos inherentemente más seguros está muy atrasada. La industria de productos de salón debe asegurarse de que los productos que fabrican ya no dañen la salud de los trabajadores del salón. Los productos más seguros y saludables beneficiarán claramente tanto a los trabajadores del salón como a sus clientes.

Hojas de Datos

Unmasking the Impact of Toxic Chemicals on Salon Workers

Salon Product Labeling Report Summary: Information for Salon Workers

EXPOSED: Ingredients in Salon Products & Salon Worker Health and Safety

March 2023 REPORT
Español – Divulgación: Ingredientes en Productos de Salón y Salud y Seguridad de los Trabajadores de Salón

This report reviewed a snapshot of certain professional salon products currently available in California beauty supply stores to investigate how well manufacturers are complying with these new laws, to help identify important ingredient and disclosure trends, and to further emphasize what we now know about chemicals found in these professional products.

Salon workers are especially vulnerable to toxic exposures in the salon. They work day in and day out with salon products, accumulating significantly more exposure than the average user of cosmetic products. Salon workers are predominately a workforce of women, people of color and are often low-income – meaning the exposure to toxic chemicals in the salon workplace compounds the myriad of other threats to their health they already face related directly to gender, race, economic status, access to quality healthcare, and more. As a result, studies show that salon workers suffer from significantly higher rates of disease and chronic health conditions such as asthma, skin conditions, pregnancy complications and some types of cancer compared to other occupations. Urgent action is needed to prevent these negative health outcomes, many of which are avoidable – starting with ensuring that professional salon products are safe and healthy for salon workers to use.

Our investigation discovered that professional salon products still largely contain ingredients that have been documented as hazardous to salon workers for decades. We identified very little innovation in the salon product industry to replace hazardous chemicals with inherently safer alternatives. Instead, we noted that in many cases, where hazardous chemicals were included in products, the manufacturers included unrealistic safety instructions for users. The safety instructions suggest avoiding exposure to the products (like inhalation or contact with skin) where this would be nearly impossible to accomplish. This unfairly puts the onus for safety on the salon worker, rather than on the manufacturer who is responsible for making products that are safe to use. In addition, we identified products and product categories where ingredient disclosure remains inadequate or absent altogether.

Key Findings

• Hazardous chemicals are found in professional salon products that harm lungs, cause allergic skin reactions and are linked to reproductive harm and cancer.
• Despite decades of warnings about these chemicals from public health officials, and known harm to salon workers, very little innovation toward safer chemistry is evident in the professional salon product industry.
• The few harmful ingredients that have been removed from products have been replaced with regrettable substitutes.
• Manufacturers frequently provide product safety instructions that make it near impossible to use products in a way that avoids harm.
• Despite new laws requiring ingredient disclosure, some salon products are still sold without ingredient listings on the label.

Conclusion:

Securing the right-to-know what ingredients are used in products is an important first step to transforming the salon product industry toward a healthier and more sustainable future. As a result of new laws we are learning more about the prevalence of harmful ingredients that are used in salon products than ever before. We hope this information will give salon workers greater ability to avoid certain ingredients or products that may harm their health and to advocate for safer and healthier workplaces. It is time to demand greater accountability from the salon product industry to manufacture products that are less toxic. Innovation of inherently safer chemical ingredients is well overdue. The salon product industry must ensure that the products they make will no longer harm the health of salon workers. Safer and healthier products will clearly benefit both salon workers and their clients alike.

Report Highlights

How Hidden Fragrance Allergens Harm Public Health

Yet, affected populations are kept in the dark by the fragrance industry, which keeps fragrance ingredients a secret because they claim that it will hurt their competitive edge if the information is released.  This policy of secrecy has a two-fold effect on public health: it makes fragrance allergy both harder to diagnose and harder to treat.  For example, a person may be able to identify a fragranced product that causes their allergy, but it becomes overwhelmingly complex without ingredient information for the health care provider to identify which ingredient in the product might actually be causing the allergy.  Even when a health care provider has identified the ingredient to which a patient is allergic, it can be almost impossible for the patient to avoid the allergen in a household product because fragrance ingredients, including known allergens, are usually not disclosed on product labels or websites.  Allergy patients are left with the unfortunate and extraordinarily limiting option of attempting to avoid all fragranced products.

Thus, the lack of information on ingredients in fragrance is a major public health problem.  Allergic patients routinely suffer unnecessarily and incur significant health costs associated with those allergies.  Disclosing fragrance ingredients, including those ingredients which have been identified by scientific bodies as allergens, is an imperative step that could have a significant global health benefit.  The fragrance industry is opposed to this approach and has maintained the need to keep fragrance ingredients a secret from the public.  While the sector claims that secrecy is vital to their business model, it is an unconvincing argument.  Current technology allows for highly sophisticated reverse engineering of fragrances, a common practice of fragrance formulators and their competitors.  Thus, if a company’s competitor can correctly identify the majority of fragrance ingredients, it stands to reason that the next step would be to disclose them to consumers who really need the information to protect their health.

The solution is simple: Fragrance ingredients, including allergens, should be disclosed to consumers to allow them to protect their health and avoid the substances they wish to avoid.

This report focuses solely on allergy associated with fragrance.  However, allergy is neither the only nor the most severe health problem caused by fragrance.  While beyond the scope of this report, it should be noted that neurotoxic effects, respiratory effects, immune system impacts and others are all associated with fragrance and deserve greater investigation and attention than they have received.

Chemicals of Concern Commonly Found in Fragrance Used in Cleaning Products

Phthalates: Phthalates are a class of chemicals used in fragrance that do not contribute a scent, like musks or plant essences do, but rather act as solvents and carriers for those chemicals that create the scent in a fragrance. Phthalates have been shown to cause reproductive and developmental harm in laboratory animals, and are linked to similar impacts in humans.

Imagine yourself in a flower garden, a shady pine forest, a lemon grove on a summer day or on a tropical island at sunset. Peaceful, joyous images come to mind for most of us—and this is exactly what the manufacturers of many cleaning products aim to deliver to your very own home!

Cleaning product manufacturers anticipate and respond to the needs and desires of their customers, predominantly women, who look for products that enhance the experience of cleaning and add a sensory pleasure to their homes. But most of us are unaware that thousands of synthetic chemicals are used to create modern day fragrances for our products, and that some of these chemicals have been linked to health impacts ranging from eye and skin irritation to hormone imbalance and increased risk of breast cancer.

Furthermore, these ingredients are kept secret—the vast majority of manufacturers currently are not disclosing fragrance ingredients on websites or on the product label, and these ingredients are frequently claimed as confidential business information. This means that consumers are unable to avoid certain chemicals even if they desired to do so. The only current solution to reducing exposure to chemicals of concern is to avoid fragranced products all together, and this is simply an unfair choice.

What’s that Smell? is designed to shed some light on the associated human health impacts of common fragrance ingredients in cleaning products. Specifically, it presents the current scientific findings on allergens linked to eye and skin irritation and breathing problems, synthetic musks linked to hormone disruption and potential increased risk of cancer, and phthalates linked to reproductive and developmental harm.
This report also highlights the need for additional studies to better understand the impacts that exposure to these chemicals have on human health, particularly during critical stages of development such as pregnancy and infancy.

What’s that Smell? is intended to provide consumers with alternatives for reducing their exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in fragranced cleaning products and to offer some policy solutions for protecting public health in the long term.