Volatile organic compounds exposure and occupational symptoms among female Vietnamese nail salon workers in Danang City

Nail workers are exposed to many hazardous chemicals. Despite many warnings about health problems among nail workers in other countries, data concerning exposure to chemical hazards among nail workers is still limited in Vietnam. The aims of this study were to identify exposure to volatile organic compounds and their relationship with occupational symptoms among Vietnamese female nail salon workers.A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Danang, Vietnam, from January 2019 to September 2019. Passive samplers were used to examine exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among nail workers. A total of 100 nail workers in 15 salons and 100 office workers in offices adjacent to the salons were interviewed to compare occupational symptoms among them. The total 42 personal samplers were used to measured twelve substances twice a week for 21 nail workers from 15 salons using personal passive samplers. The commonly detected compounds in nail salons were acetone (97.6%), butyl acetate (83.3%), and ethyl acetate, and ethyl methacrylate (78%). The concentration of total target VOCs was related to the number of serviced customers, the concentration of CO2, and general ventilation used. The subjective symptoms were significantly higher for the nail workers than for the comparison subjects, e.g., headache, nausea, nose irritation, skin irritation, shortness of breath, and confusion. After adjusting for confounding effects, nose irritation was significantly high for nail workers who were exposed to acetone at levels exceeding the Vietnam Exposure Limit.Exposure to VOCs such as acetone in nail salons results in occupational symptoms among workers.