Employees of the estimated 3,000 nail salons in New York state have some new regulatory protections, after the passage of bills A. 7630A and S. 05966 by the state legislature. The legislation ensures that trainees have access to proper training on safety and preventing infection and allows the state to shut down salons that repeatedly flout the law and evade health and safety inspections by operating without a license.
According to OSHA nail salon workers may be exposed to toxic chemicals that can cause eye, skin and throat irritations, difficulty breathing, asthma and cancer. Chemicals used in nail salons include Acetone, acetonitrile, butyl acetate dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, ethyl acetate, formaldehyde and methacrylic acid.