Developing a system for controlling chemical, biological, biomechanical and noise hazards and assessing occupational risk in hair/beauty salons

The task consisted in developing and administering a questionnaire among the staff of hair/beauty salons: hair stylists (including owners of salons) and beauticians. On the basis of an analysis of their workstations, their activities and the products they used, harmful and strenuous factors were identified in a hair salons and in hair/beauty salons. The results of the questionnaires were put into diagrams and histograms to illustrate the percentage of responses to individual questions. To assess occupational risk at a hair stylistʼs workstation, chemical factors, harmful biological factors and noise were measured; biomechanical hazards were assessed, too. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes and ketones, ethyl acetate, isobutyl acetate and isopropyl alcohol were measured at the beauticianʼs workstations. The results of noise measurements indicate that the sound exposure level ranges from 63 dB at the workstation of a manicurist/beautician to 75 dB at the workstation of a hair stylist. Like at the workstation of a person washing hair, workers at the workstation of a manicurist/beautician are exposed to 63-71 dB related to weekly work hours. Mean sound level at individual workstations is more affected by noise from other workstations (mostly hair stylistsʼ) than by noise at that particular workstation. Risk related to static load of the whole body in the case of the work of a hair stylist was assessed as low; however, in the case of a manicurist/beautician it was medium. Risk related to upper limb load resulting from repetitive task was low in all cases. Next, occupational risk was assessed at beauticiansʼ workstations. To assess exposure to chemical factors, the following were measured: volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes and ketones, acetone, ethyl acetate and sopropyl alcohol. The results of measurements and assessment of occupational risk posed by chemical, biological, biomechanical and noise hazards was assessed as low at all the workstations that had been studied. A checklist was developed as were recommendations for assessing and reducing occupational risk related to the abovementioned hazards in selected hair/beauty salons.