What a mix! Volatile organic compounds and worker exposure in small business beauty salons in Tucson, Arizona.

Introduction: Small business beauty salons have volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their workplace air. VOCs are present as ingredients in beauty or hair products. They may also form because of chemical reactions, where thermal-styling elements accelerate the volatilization of these compounds.

Studying full-shift inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among Latino workers in very small-sized beauty salons and auto repair shops.

Background: One in every 200 US jobs is in a beauty salon or auto repair shop, where workers are regularly exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may cause a range of short- and long-term health issues. In these shops, Latino workers are overrepresented and lack culturally and linguistically appropriate industrial hygiene resources. This leaves a gap in knowledge on inhalation exposures to VOCs in this hard-to-reach and ubiquitous worker population.

Thinking on your feet: Beauty and auto small businesses maneuver the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic, and governments and health institutions enacted various public health measures to decrease its transmission rate. The COVID-19 pandemic made occupational health disparities for small businesses more visible and created an unprecedented financial burden, particularly for those located in communities of color. In part, communities of color experienced disproportionate mortality and morbidity rates from COVID-19 due to their increased exposure.

Understanding the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Small Businesses and Workers Using Quantitative and Qualitative Methods.

The COVID-19 pandemic has simultaneously exacerbated and elucidated inequities in resource distribution for small businesses across the United States in terms of worker health and the financial stability of both owners and employees. This disparity was further intensified by the constantly changing and sometimes opposing health and safety guidelines and recommendations to businesses from the local, state, and federal government agencies. To better understand how the pandemic has impacted small businesses, a cross-sectional survey was administered to owners, managers, and workers (n = 45) in the beauty and auto shop sectors from Southern Arizona.

Combating Climate Injustices: An Informal Science and Popular Education Approach to Addressing Environmental Health Disparities.

As global warming worsens, addressing environmental health disparities and justice is increasingly important. This necessity is evident in southern metropolitan Tucson, Arizona, an area underserved and disproportionately experiencing the effects of climate change. Including underserved groups in problem solving can spur knowledge generation and the building of community capacity to address and mitigate environmental health challenges posed by climate justice.