writing papers

Perfect Nails

Salwa ALzariky

English 1130:024

4/24/18

Abstract

Occupational health and safety in the nail salon industry have emerged as a controversial argument in the recent years. This follows an increase in a number of studies( sources) that majorly focus on nail salon however not so much information is shown that exposure to toxic chemicals used to manufacture nail products have adverse health implications on women working in the industry( sources). There has also been a numerous research done that sought to protect the interests of nail salon product manufacturers( sources). Consequently, this paper adopts the argument that nail polish products have deadly poisonous and uses existing research evidence to support the argument. The conclusion of the argument is that all the stakeholders should converge to discuss the issue in order to find a long-lasting solution to the problem. This will protect the interests of consumers, manufacturers and regulatory agencies and thus solve the existing controversy.

· Recourse add on this pages I highlight where you should add sources

Introduction

Many women have come to acknowledge the benefits of convenience associated with cost-effective, long-lasting and simple to apply nail polish without awareness of the potential general health and reproductive health risks resulting from the toxic fumes that emanate from these products (Bullard, Saha and Wright, 2007) Page number!?. Salon workers are exposed to chemicals inherent in nail polish which have been known to cause various health issues. According to a study Asian Health Services, an advocacy organization that seek to protect the health rights of Asian workers showed that Asian women working in Salons suffered from predominant illnesses such as breathing problems, asthma symptoms and reproductive health conditions such as miscarriage. Further a study (2007), revealed that manicurists, makeup artists and hairdressers are a higher risk of delivering low birth-weight babies and also dying from Hodgkin’s disease. Despite the fact that there is a growing body of knowledge on the health risks associated with exposure to nail polish chemicals, manufacturers of nail polish products have strongly sponsored counter-evidence to refute this growing claim by advocacy groups in the United States and other parts of the world. For example, a study conducted (2007), cast aspersions on the existing evidence by arguing that studies linking nail chemicals to various illnesses were few and limited and therefore cannot be conclusive. This research therefore come a number of factual statements that aided disputes on the growing evidence that links nail chemicals to various health issues affecting women working in salons. This research establishes a strong argument in support of the growing evidence that links nail chemicals to various health issues affecting women working in salons and relies on existing research evidence in the form of scholarly articles to support the line of argument adopted in order to compel nail product manufacturers to take concrete actions to reverse the trend. However, the Californian state government established regulations that required nail salon workers to put on protective masks in order to reduce exposure to these toxic chemicals.

Research Evidence

There is a growing body of evidence in literature supporting the argument that nail polish chemicals have adverse health consequences to women that are exposed to chemical fumes. Initial studies such as that conducted by Zota, Aschengrau, et. al., (2010) showed that nearly 50 percent of nail chemicals such as gel nail polish contained toxic chemicals in the form of polymer plastics such as acrylates and methacrylates. The study further revealed that unlike regular polish which drying over time, gel nail polishes undergoes a curing process through exposure to ultraviolet light. While the curing process is intended to form a tough bond between the nail and polish, it has been known to have adverse health consequences (Zota, Aschengrau, et. al., 2010). A test of the acrylates and methacrylates conducted on 115,000 patients, including cosmetologists and nail artists showed that 67.1% of the respondents reacted to exposure to the chemicals. The study linked gel chemicals in nail polish to allergic dermatitis that were found to be common among consumers nail artists and cosmetologists. These conditions included swelling, itching, red rash and burning. The fact that gel polish is provides a natural and professional look, is less expensive and simpler to apply has led to its popularity among consumers and nail artists, thus placing two groups at a higher risk of exposure to acrylates and methacrylates chemicals.

Another study that revealed critical health risks associated with prolong nail can pose a dangerous health hazards such as irritation nose eye and can cause cancer. The organization has for several years advocated for Federal regulation on the chemicals used in nail polish products citing several research findings that linked reproductive health complications of salon workers to the long hour exposure to toxic fumes in their workplaces. Study findings by the Asian Health Services revealed that skin ailments, respiratory problems, miscarriages, abnormal fetal development and other reproductive health complications were prevalent among Asian women working in salon establishment compared to women working in areas where they were least exposed to these chemicals. However, despite the growing pressure by the advocacy group to enlist support from the state and federal government to institute safety regulation measure, the fact that the existing legal framework does not require cosmetic manufacturing firms to disclose safety details of products to Food and Drug Administration has remained a significant setback to the efforts in protecting women working in salons from the risks associated with long exposure to toxic fumes from nail polish gel products (Edwards & Cooper, 2006). The fact that state and federal legal frameworks do not enforce law to evaluate the effects of chemicals used in cosmetic products to the users of the product provides a major loopholes through which cosmetic manufacturers use to reverse bans. For example, efforts to restrict chemicals used in nail products in California a decade ago were countered with a ban from the cosmetic industry, which was a major setback in protecting Asian women working in nail salon establishments that were growing in Oakland, Calif and California at the time.

Figure 1.0: Papers mentioning nail polish chemicals by year (Roelofs, 2015).

An environmental advocacy organization, Harlem conducted a study in 2016 to investigate the health implications associated with nail salon products. The findings of this research supported the growing concern on the toxic exposure of women working in nail salons by establishing that nail salons are often small workspaces that are poorly ventilated which places women at a higher risk of exposure to the toxic fumes that emanate from nail polish gel.

A critical point to note in the argument is that despite nail salon product manufacturers absolving themselves from the potential health risks associated with nail products, a recent report by Zota, Aschengrau, et. al., (2010) showed that more and more manufacturers are confirming that they have removed the toxic elements in the nail products. However, a random sampling of gel nail products conducted by Maddox (2010), on government departments in the United States revealed that majority of the product still contained the controversial toxic chemical products. This supports the growing research on the existence of toxic chemical. However, there is still little research evidence on the level of health implications these products have caused on the United States pollution since studies have focused on small racial, economic or professional groups thus narrowing the real health impact. Further a research by Maddox (2010), revealed that both the gel nail polish products and their removers contained toxic elements that posed general health and reproductive health risks to women exposed to the fumes on a daily basis. The lights that often used to dry the gel polish have also been known to cause types of skin cancer.

Most research findings focusing on the general health and reproductive health impact of gel nail polish products have often sampled on specific communities and regions. However, it is important to point out that complaints about the dangers of the toxic chemicals have been reported from different parts of the country. The most common ones include cancers, painful skin afflictions, miscarriages, coughs and children born slow (Environmental Working Group (EWG), 2005). Body. Further, a study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2003), which focused on the health implications of working in nail salons recommended that women in their child-bearing age should keep away from the business due to the potential exposure to solvents, polishes, glues and nail polish hardeners on a daily basis.

The formation of collaborative and advocacy groups to propagate the health agenda of women working in nail salon environments has however served as a strong tool to bring together consumers and a poisonous industry, thus initiating new discussions on the roles of each stakeholder in the cosmetic supply chain (Breast Cancer Fund, 2008). One such group is the California Health Nail Salon advocacy group ( year) cite a sources for this which brings together interest groups that aim to protect women from exposure to toxic chemicals contained in nail products. The group not only pushes for regulation but also considers the role of safety equipment for women working in the nail salon environment.

Figure 2.0 Loss of fingerprints due to chemicals in nail polish gel (Roelofs, 2015).

In the counter-argument, cosmetic manufacturing companies have instated that studies linking general health and reproductive health complications among nail salon workers to toxic chemicals used in the manufacturing of the products are few and narrowly focused on minority groups (Steingraber, 2007). Further, the firms have always used the existing legal support which does not require state and federal governments to require nail polish manufacturers to disclose the ingredients of nail polish products (Bird, 2010). Further, literature refuting the claims shows that manufacturing companies link the exposure to chemicals as a result of inaccurately labeled products, lack of proper protective gear and lack of proper regulation on nail salon work environments.

(Description how to solve the problems for example you can talk about wearing gloves and Mask also, talk about this part on the solutions( nail product manufacturers should acknowledge the health impact of the products they manufacturer and collaborate with consumer safety organizations, government agencies, and advocacy groups in order to protect women exposed to fumes from nail polish products.)

Conclusion

In conclusion, research findings show that nail polish products have been linked to various general health and reproductive health conditions reported in different regions in the United States. Consequently, nail product manufacturers should acknowledge the health impact of the products they manufacturer and collaborate with consumer safety organizations, government agencies, and advocacy groups in order to protect women exposed to fumes from nail polish products. This will provide a platform for discussion that is likely to arrive at a solution that is beneficial to all the stakeholders.

References

Bird, C.  (2010). Gender, Household Labor, and Psychological Distress: The Impact of the Amount and Division of Housework.  Journal of Health and Social Behavior 40(1): 32-45.

Breast Cancer Fund. (2008). State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment, fifth edition. http://www.breastcancerfund.org/publications.

Bullard, R; Saha, R; Wright, B. (2007). Toxic Wastes and Race and Twenty 1987-2007: Grassroots Struggles to Dismantle Environmental Racism in the United States.  Report for United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries http://www.ejnet.org/ej/twart.pdf

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (2004).  Exposures Add Up Survey Results June 2004http://www.cosmeticsdata base.com/research/exposures.php

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2003). Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals.  Department of Health and Human Services. NCEH Pub No. 02-0716.  2003 Jan; 1-257.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (2008). Eliminate Disparities in Lupus (Online Factsheet).  http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/amh/factsheets/lupus.htm.

Edwards, CJ. and Cooper, C. (2006). Early Environmental Exposure and the Development of Lupus. Lupus. 15(11): 814-819.

Environmental Working Group (EWG). (2005). Body Burden 2: The Pollution in Newborns. http://archive.ewg. org/reports/bodyburden2/

Maddox, W. (2010). In Whose Backyard? Chemical Toxins, Reproductive Health, and Communities of Color. Center for American Progress. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/04/backyard.html.

Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at University of California, San Francisco. (2008). Shaping our Legacy: Reproductive Health and the Environment. Report on Summit on Environmental Challenges to Reproductive Health and Fertility. 2008 Sep; 1-80.

Roelofs, C. (2015). Perfect nails poisoned workers and where is the law? The Pump Handle. Retrieved 24 April 2018, from http://www.thepumphandle.org/2015/05/11/perfect-nails-poisoned-workers-and-where-is-the-law/#.Wt8Q8pe-nIV

Steingraber, S.  (2007).  The falling age of puberty in US girls: what we know, what we need to know | Canadian Women's Health Network. Cwhn.ca. Retrieved 24 April 2018, from http://www.cwhn.ca/en/node/43399

Zota, A.R., A. Aschengrau, et. al. (2010). Self-reported chemicals exposure, beliefs about disease causation, and risk of breast cancer in the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study: a case-control study. Environmental Health. 9:40. Needs to add source)