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.

Dissolved arsenic and lead concentrations in rooftop harvested rainwater: Community generated dataset.

Here, we detail arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) concentrations in community science generated rooftop harvested rainwater data from Project Harvest (PH), a co-created community science study, and National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) National Trends Network wet-deposition AZ samples as analyzed by Palawat et al. [1]. 577 field samples were collected in PH and 78 field samples were collected by NADP.

Assessing the impact of rainwater harvesting infrastructure and gardening trends on microbial indicator organism presence in harvested rainwater and garden soils.

Aim: To assess the microbial water quality of harvested rainwater infrastructure used to supplement household water uses for homegrown produce.

Methods And Results: Using a co-created community science methodology, between 2017 and 2020, a total of 587 harvested rainwater samples and 147 garden soil samples irrigated with harvested rainwater were collected from four Arizona communities and analyzed for coliform, Escherichia coli, and/or Salmonella. Participants also completed a home description survey regarding their home and surrounding area, water harvesting infrastructure, and gardening habits.

Patterns of contamination and burden of lead and arsenic in rooftop harvested rainwater collected in Arizona environmental justice communities.

As climate change exacerbates water scarcity, rainwater harvesting for household irrigation and gardening becomes an increasingly common practice. However, the use and quality of harvested rainwater are not well studied, and the potential pollutant exposures associated with its use are generally unknown. There are currently no federal standards in the United States to assess metal(loid)s in harvested rainwater.

Organic micropollutants measured in roof-harvested rainwater from rural and urban environmental justice communities in Arizona.

Due to global water scarcity and population growth, multiple solutions are needed to conserve and collect water, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the planet. As the practice of harvesting rainwater grows, it is important to assess the quality of roof-harvested rainwater (RHRW). This study measured twelve organic micropollutants (OMPs) in RHRW samples collected between 2017 and 2020 by community scientists, with approximately two hundred RHRW samples and corresponding field blank analyzed annually.

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.

Proposing a social ecological approach to address disparities in occupational exposures and health for low-wage and minority workers employed in small businesses.

Occupational disease and injuries are the 8th leading cause of death in the United States. Low-wage and minority workers are more likely to work in hazardous industries and are thus at greater risk. Within the small business sector, in particular, the health of low-wage and minority workers is threatened by a multitude of complex and interrelated factors that increase their risk for injuries, death, and even chronic disease.

Responsibility for chemical exposures: perspectives from small beauty salons and auto shops in southern metropolitan Tucson.

Background: Throughout the United States, low-wage, minority workers are disproportionately affected by occupational illnesses and injuries. Chronic exposure to hazardous chemicals at work can lead to serious illnesses, contributing to health inequities. In this article, we expand on theories of 'responsibilization' in an occupational health context to reveal how responsibilities for workplace chemical exposures are negotiated by workers and owners in Latinx-owned small businesses.

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.

Transferable Training Modules: Building Environmental Education Opportunities With and for Mexican Community Health Workers (Promotores de Salud).

Community health workers (promotores de salud) have the ability to empower communities to mitigate negative health outcomes. Current training efforts in environmental topics are lacking. This project addressed this gap by developing 4 transferable training modules on environmental health.

Pollution Prevention through Peer Education: A Community Health Worker and Small and Home-Based Business Initiative on the Arizona-Sonora Border.

Government-led pollution prevention programs tend to focus on large businesses due to their potential to pollute larger quantities, therefore leaving a gap in programs targeting small and home-based businesses. In light of this gap, we set out to determine if a voluntary, peer education approach led by female, Hispanic community health workers (promotoras) can influence small and home-based businesses to implement pollution prevention strategies on-site. This paper describes a partnership between promotoras from a non-profit organization and researchers from a university working together to reach these businesses in a predominately Hispanic area of Tucson, Arizona.

Characterization of the solid waste stream of the Tohono O'odham nation.

The Tohono O'odham Nation's Solid Waste Management Program (SWMP) and the Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc. (SERI) completed a waste characterization study for the Tohono O'odham Nation (the Nation) to aid in the development of an effective waste management plan. The Nation has recently switched from open dumping and burning of waste to collection in dumpsters and transportation to regulated landfills.