Occupational exposure of nail technicians to industrial chemicals: A pilot study

Previous studies have observed the use of complex industrial chemicals in beauty products. However, occupational exposure of beauty practitioners to various chemicals has not been sufficiently assessed. Our study recruited 37 female nail technicians from 28 nail salons in South China and investigated the abundances and profiles of more than 60 industrial chemicals or their metabolites in indoor dust, hand wipes, and urine of nail technicians. Thirty female college students were also recruited for comparison. The results revealed broad exposure of nail technicians to 42 target chemicals or their metabolites, with mono-phthalate esters (mono-PAEs) exhibiting the highest concentrations (median 284 ng/mL), followed by parabens (median 57.9 ng/mL) and antioxidants (median 19.6 ng/mL) in urine. The urinary concentrations of mono-PAEs, parabens, triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban of nail technicians were significantly higher than those of college students. Pre-shift and post-shift urine did not exhibit significant differences for most chemicals, likely reflecting continuous and long-term exposure. Hand wipe levels of TCS and 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylpheno were significantly associated with urinary levels of these chemicals or their metabolites, while such a pattern was not observed between dust and urinary levels. This highlights the influence of dermal contact or hand-to-mouth transfer on the intake of these chemicals. Collectively, our pilot study demonstrates the occupational exposure of nail technicians to industrial chemicals in beauty products and calls for vigilant self-protection measures to mitigate exposure risks in beauty practitioners.