OSHA Forms Beauty Industry Safety Alliance
The alliance with Georgia Concerned Beauty Professionals aims to help eliminate chemical hazards in the industry.
OSHA has entered into an alliance with the Georgia Concerned Beauty Professionals in Atlanta with the goal of eliminating chemical hazards in the beauty industry. The alliance hopes to educate, guide, and train those in the industry to "protect employees from exposure to products that contain hazardous chemicals, such as formaldehyde." The alliance will be signed March 31 at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
In the past, OSHA has found formaldehyde in the air in salons that used "hair smoothing" products. The products have this ingredient labeled on their products by law, but OSHA investigations at certain salons demonstrated higher formaldehyde limits in the air than OSHA's regulations allow. According to the agency's news release, OSHA requires manufacturers, importers, and distributors of products that contain formaldehyde to include information about formaldehyde and its hazards on product labels and in safety data sheets sent to employers.
Formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and nose; cause allergic reactions affecting the skin, eyes, and lungs; and is linked to nasal and lung cancers.