dangers of the smells in the salon — but

it’s not the smells that should cause us

concern. Learn the facts on air puri?cation,

and then take steps to protect yourself and

your clients.

“If you smelled a gas leak in your house, you wouldn’t want an air purifier to get rid of the smell, you would want to get rid of the gas,” says Doug Schoon, chief scientific advisor for CND. In the same way, techs can go crazy trying to get the smell of nail products out of the air, but that’s not the right way of looking at the problem. You need to ventilate the vapors and the dust, and in doing so, you’ll take care of the smell. Even though the dangers of the salon are well under OSHA’s guidelines, “there is still a need for proper ventilation,” says Schoon.

But what is proper ventilation? Neutralized, purified, oxidized — we hear lots of words used to describe what needs to be done to “clean” the salon’s odiferous air. At the same time, we hear about the dangers of breathing dust for 10 hours a day. Don’t listen to fear-mongers. “It’s easy to work in a salon safely,” says Schoon. Think of protecting yourself and your clients as a three-tier approach. Working from the broadest area in, techs should be concerned first about the building, next about their salon space, and finally about their breathing zone.

YOUR BUILDING A building’s ventilation system, whether in a strip mall or a stand-alone structure, is called the HVAC system. It stands for Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning. This is your first line of attack. The HVAC system brings fresh air to the salon and pushes it from one room to another. This system needs to be professionally maintained by a specialist. The specialist will change the filters, and properly balance and clean the system every year. An HVAC system removes mold, mildew, dust, etc., providing relatively fresh air to a building.

YOUR SALON “If you walk into your salon in the morning and it smells, you have a problem,” says Schoon. The vapors emitted by nail products should be out of the air within 10 minutes, so there should be no smell of nail products in your salon when you arrive in the morning. This probably shocks a number of us, because for years, we’ve smelled acrylic the minute we open the doors. You have probably even thought if this was bad for me, they would regulate a system to take the smell away. Somehow there’s a part of us that thinks someone else is going to take care of us. “The reality is, we need to be progressive about our own health,” says Jeff Cardarella, president of Modern Solutions in Madison, Wis. “We might think we’re protected by regulations, but the regulations are outdated and meaningless.” His first recommendation: tear up the carpet. “Carpeting in a salon is not a good idea.” says Cardarella. “It’s an odor and a dust trap, and it doesn’t belong in a salon.”

Next, invest in an air purification system. Techs may have heard that the best ventilation systems vent to the outside. Schoon agrees — get the vapors and dust out of the salon. However, venting to the outside may not be possible. Even if it’s possible, it may not be practical. Ventilating to the outside could blow all your warm or cold air outside, says Cardarella. But if we don’t vent to the outside, how do we clean the air in the salon?

You need a professional system that can handle what you’re putting into the air. Don’t buy one designed for the home or office, advises Schoon. An appropriate ventilation system will contain a material that absorbs the vapors created by nail products. This is important. Some products claim to neutralize the smell, and since the smell is gone, we think we’ve taken care of the problem. “This doesn’t get rid of the chemicals in the air,” says Schoon. The system won’t simply neutralize the smell; it will remove the vapors from the air. Generally speaking, a whole-salon air purification system circulates salon air through the unit and material inside the system acts as a sponge, absorbing chemical vapors. The absorbant filters in these types of salon systems will need to be changed regularly, every three to four months, as they get saturated with salon chemicals. Each unit on the market will have different specs, so techs should ask questions about how effective the unit will be for a salon of their size with their number of techs (or stylists, etc.). Multiple units may be needed in larger salons. Units are mobile and should be positioned in the center of the salon, never in a corner. “Purifying the salon air is important,” says Cardarella, “but we also want to prevent the vapors from even getting into the air.”

YOUR BREATHING ZONE The easiest and most efficient way to prevent vapors and dust from getting into the salon is to supply each nail desk with a source-capture system. A source- capture system protects the “breathing zone” of the tech — the two-foot radius in front of the mouth. “Every breath we take comes from the breathing zone,” says Schoon. “We want to keep that area clean.” And if that area is clean — if the vapors and dust are captured immediately — then they don’t make it past the desk and into the salon. If anything does get past the source- capture system, it would be absorbed by the whole-salon unit.

A number of source-capture systems are available on the market, but they all do essentially the same thing: They immediately capture (suck) the dust and vapors that are created when techs prep, apply, and file enhancements, and then they absorb and contain the vapors, dust, and debris. As with the larger, whole-salon ventilator, the absorbent material needs to be changed regularly as it becomes saturated with salon chemicals.

While source-capture systems are all meant to accomplish the same thing, the quality of them dramatically differs. “These are not magic boxes,” says Schoon. He recommends techs choose a unit with a four-inch bed of absorbent material that the air has to pass through. “It needs to be a hefty, thick bed,” says Schoon. “Tables with a bed of material that you can see through are useless.”

Together, “source-capture and purification systems minimize what becomes part of the air,” says Cardarella. Techs will benefit in two ways. First, they will breathe clean air — which makes for happier lungs and reduces headaches, fatigue, and dry, irritated eyes. Second, they will never have to be concerned about the smell of the salon.

When it comes to nail salon safety, consumers are more likely to fear foot fungus, not the beauty products themselves. That despite the fact that the nail industry uses 10,000 chemicals in its products, 89 percent of which have not been safety tested by any independent agency, according to a recent report by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.

This has advocates concerned not only for consumers, but nail salon workers.

“We are also very concerned about worker health, typically women of color, Asian immigrants and Asian American women,” said Felicia Eaves, a national campaigns organizer with Women’ s Voices of the Earth. “They spend lots of time, 10 to 14 hours, working with these products. We know that many of these women have health effects, problems with spontaneous abortion and other health problems.”

Eaves’ group helped to found the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of public health, environmental, consumer and women’s groups, whose goal is to push the beauty industry to use safer alternatives. Advocates won a victory with the 2005 passage of California Senate Bill 484, the Safe Cosmetics Act, which for the first time requires manufacturers to disclose to state officials if they used chemicals linked to cancer or birth defects in their products.

Currently, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not safety test ingredients used in cosmetic or personal care products before they hit the market. That research is carried out by the industry itself. Consumers are left to sift through the tiny type of ingredients listed on the back of the bottle. In the past, manufacturers made it even harder by omitting ingredients from labels, claiming the right to protect trade secrets. However, the Safe Cosmetics Act now requires them to report all carcinogenic compounds.

On the job, nail salon workers come into contact with chemical hazards linked to illnesses, cancers and reproductive harm, including birth defects. The known or suspected carcinogens include phthalates (found in nail polish), formaldehyde, benzene and methylene chloride.

Connie Nguyen, 46, has worked in the beauty business for 10 years. She said she’s had some health problems, including difficulty breathing, skin allergies and occasional dizziness.

“I cannot blame what happened on my work, but I do not have an answer to why I got it,” said Nguyen. “Even though in a salon, they do different kinds of work. You don’t necessarily sit down and do acrylic nails, but the chemicals still affect your respiratory system strongly. No doctor could tell me I have these kinds of problems because of the work I do, but if you don’t have the answer, you have to think something must cause it.”

Some cosmetic makers dispute a connection between phthalates and reproductive harm, stating that studies have only been carried out on animals. The industry claims its phthalate levels fall within FDA limits, though advocates argue those levels are too high. The European Union has banned phthalates from all of its cosmetics due to health concerns.

Despite health hazards, the popularity of the nail profession is booming.

The nail industry has tripled in size in the last two decades. The majority of workers are women, and nationally, an estimated 42 percent are Asian. In California, home to a fifth of the country’s manicurists, an estimated 80 percent are Vietnamese. Of that number, half are of child-bearing age.

“The nail trade is fast, easy and cheap to learn,” said Nguyen, “and doesn’t require a high level of English language skills.” More attractive is the earning potential. Nguyen said nail salon workers can typically make $2000 to $4000 monthly.

Many recent Vietnamese immigrants “already have a plan to come here and get the license quickly and get into it,” explained Nguyen. “They are very young, very aggressive and when they come to America and make a few thousand dollars a month, it is very difficult for any organization to tell them you have to think twice.”

A couple years ago, Judy Le was enrolled in cosmetology school, and on track to enter the beauty business, like most of the women in her family. She participated in a youth program through Oakland-based Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice. The POLISH project brings together youth and nail salon workers to learn about and organize around toxins in personal care products.

Armed with knowledge about cancer-causing ingredients in beauty products, Le said she questioned her instructors in cosmetology school. “I did talk to my teacher about it,” Le said. “But the program didn’t talk much about harmful ingredients. We weren’t given this information. The program didn’t focus on health hazards. It focused on money-making aspect.”

Le’s participation in POLISH made her think twice about becoming a manicurist after getting her cosmetology license. Now 20 years old, she works part-time as a hairstylist, which she said exposes her to less dangerous chemicals, and is working towards a nursing degree.

“I’m going to school to keep my options open,” she said. “I always wanted to be a hairstylist and open my own salon, but I like the idea of helping people as a nurse. In a way, I think nursing and cosmetology are similar in that they give me the chance to help people. With one, I help people feel better about themselves on the outside, and with the other, I help people feel better on the inside by making them healthier.”

Le represents a new generation of women in the beauty profession. But women in her mother’s generation may be harder to reach with messages of workplace health and safety.

Connie Nguyen hopes getting the word out will make a difference. During an outreach and education event, she met Asian Law Caucus community advocate Linh Tran, and now advises the group on how best to outreach to nail salon workers. The training covers topics like infectious diseases and sanitation, ergonomics, chemicals, ventilation and worker health and safety rights.

“Most people are not aware of the working conditions. Workers themselves do not want to show that picture to you, to customers and to the rest of the world, because they’re afraid you won’t want to support their business anymore if you know,” said Linh Tran. “We’re trying to reach the consumer too and do it in a way that doesn’t affect business in the nail salon.”

When Linh Tran entered Jennifer Trinh’s nail salon in downtown Oakland a year ago, the 51-year-old manicurist was ready to undergo her informal training on worker health and safety. Trinh, who said she experiences skin allergies on the job, said she has made some changes in her business.

Trinh said she got into the nail business through her younger sister, who now also runs a nail salon. After 16 years as a manicurist, Trinh said she’d like to see her teenage nieces get an education so they can have more career options.

“I wouldn’t want them to do this for a living, because it’s so rough on your health,” said Trinh. But there are many other young Vietnamese women who are eager to enter the trade.

“More than ten years ago, we learned the nail trade when we got to this country, but now young women in Vietnam are hearing about the nail business from family members abroad,” said Trinh. “They’re getting training in Vietnam, so they can fast track into the nail industry when they come here.”

By LISA STIFFLER
P-I REPORTER

Close your eyes and walk past one of the city’s countless nail salons and you might think you’re passing an auto body paint shop. That’s because many of the chemicals are the same, albeit in smaller quantities.

The products that lacquer your toenails fire-engine red or make your fingernails luxuriously long and shapely can contain chemicals that are suspected or known to cause cancer and birth defects. For many dangerous ingredients, the long-term effects — five, 10, even 20 years after exposure — are unclear. Yet there are limited safeguards for nail salon workers and their customers.

There are no requirements for ventilation or protective gear for manicurists. Masks worn by some salon workers will shield them from dust, but not fumes. And the government isn’t making sure that the nail polishes, removers and acrylic nail products are safe before they adorn your digits — that’s up to the manufacturers.

“They are heavy-duty toxic chemicals so you can’t just use them indiscriminately,” said Susan Titus, an indoor-air-program specialist with the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle. “You have to be aware of the chemicals that you are using.

“I’m guessing that most of the customers that go in are not really thinking about it,” she said.

Led by the EPA, local and state health officials, along with Seattle environmental and community activists, began meeting in July to learn more about the risks and to devise ways to better protect manicurists and their clients. The group will continue meeting next year. Participants plan to monitor air quality in salons and to increase their educational outreach.

“We really don’t have a good understanding of what the accumulative effects are of (nail salon) chemicals when they’re put together,” said Ryan Kellogg, public health supervisor for the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County. “We really need to get a better handle on that.”

Until that happens, county officials are visiting salons and teaching workers about safer practices, including keeping products capped with tight lids and disposing of irritating solvents — such as acetone and toluene — in sealed trash cans.

The number of nail salons is multiplying rapidly, with between 800 and 1,200 new manicurist licenses issued by the state each year since 2002. There are more than 13,600 licensed manicurists in Washington and more than 400 nail salons in King County alone.

Fueled by Vietnamese immigrants who have made this their niche business, the salons offer pampering at a reasonable price — about $12 for manicures and acrylic nails for $25.

For seven years, Tien Tran worked in poorly ventilated salons from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., six days a week, before opening her own shop in the Central Area six months ago.

Tran wanted to create a healthier environment for her customers and workers. Her goal was “to build a nail salon that was less potent,” said the 26-year-old woman, who has two manicurists working with her.

Her Couture Nails & Spa is spacious and well-ventilated to the outdoors. After they use noxious solvents, workers dispose of them quickly. Containers holding strong-smelling products such as nail polish remover are capped except for the brief time when they’re in use. Tran also switched to chamomile lotion to dry nails, rather than a pungent aerosol spray.

“I know that the fumes may be hazardous, but I’m doing my best to do research to find products that have less fumes and are less hazardous for myself and for my customers,” Tran said.

Nail-product manufacturers and some regulatory agencies say that workers and customers are not at risk from the chemicals.

“Generally speaking, the exposure is very low-level in a nail salon, as compared to what we see in industrial use,” said Elaine Fischer, spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor and Industries. “Not only is it not over the regulated limit, it’s well under.”

Like other businesses in which dangerous chemicals are used, salons are required to have a written training program to teach workers about the chemicals and what to do if there’s an accident, such as a spill or the splashing of a product into someone’s eyes. Product safety is part of the 600 hours of training required for a manicurist license.

For many years, the safety focus for nail salons has been the risk of bacterial or fungal infections from salons practicing sloppy hygiene. Now those concerns have been expanded.

“People need to be aware of what they’re being exposed to,” said Yalonda Sinde, outgoing executive director of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, which works to safeguard minority and low-income communities.

On the West Coast, the majority of manicurists are Vietnamese women. They’re frequently immigrants who may have difficulty understanding chemical safety sheets — though shop owners are supposed to provide them with information in their own language.

On an early Saturday morning, Huong “Jenny” Nguyen’s hair and nail salon on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South has only a detectable scent of beauty supplies. Through an interpreter, Nguyen says that she notices the nail supply smells, but that they don’t give her headaches or irritate her nose or throat. She wondered if maybe pregnant women would be more sensitive to the fumes. To increase the ventilation at her shop — which does manicures, but not acrylic nails — she’ll open up the doors during the summer.

Sinde’s group has joined with the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle to try to win grant money from the EPA to pay for better public education for salons such as Nguyen’s. They want to teach salons about less-toxic products and ways to improve air quality, such as using ventilated manicure tables that suck up noxious fumes.

Nationally, groups such as the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum have pushed to ban some of the most dangerous chemicals in cosmetics, including dibutyl phthalate, which is used in nail polishes.

The chemical is easily absorbed through the skin and intestinal tract and can cross the placenta into the fetus. It has been linked to development problems in the male genitals of humans and rats. Exposed pregnant rodents had fewer live pups and smaller offspring.

Nail-polish makers and trade groups maintain that the ingredient as used in their products does not pose a threat to humans. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for regulating the safety of cosmetics, agrees.

But the European Union banned the use of dibutyl phthalates in makeup in 2004. That led consumer groups this summer to pressure recalcitrant companies to remove it from products sold in the United States as well.

The popular nail-polish maker OPI is one of the companies that finally agreed to eliminate the ingredient beginning with its winter 2006 collection.

The reason? “They wanted one worldwide formula,” said spokesman Harris Shepard. “OPI products are safe. Absolutely.”

It’s up to manufacturers to make sure their products aren’t dangerous, because the FDA’s approach to cosmetic regulation is largely hands-off.

Manufacturers make information sheets available to the public, with many posted online. But they are often too technical, incomplete or vague for most consumers or nail salon workers to understand. They might lack the exact concentrations of ingredients, fail to list components deemed “trade secrets” or state that exposure limits and health hazards have not been established. For ingredients that are listed, additional health information frequently is difficult to find, out-of-date or inconclusive.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel — an independent panel created and funded by the cosmetics industry — is a key source for safety information, though it’s tackled only a small fraction of ingredients used.

The FDA lacks the authority to force cosmetic manufacturers to prove that their products are safe — even if the public raises concerns.

But complaints are rare, those in the industry say.

The EU ban on dibutyl phthalates was because of concerns about the chemical generally, not specifically because it’s a risk when used in makeup and nail polish, said Doug Schoon, co-chairman of the Nail Manufacturers Council, a trade group with the Professional Beauty Association.

“It’s rare when somebody is really injured by cosmetics,” he said. “The truth is cosmetics are extraordinarily safe.”

Kellogg, the King County health official, objects to the notion “that we need to be seeing the cancers, that we need to be seeing the birth defects before we take action.”

“In public heath, we’re about prevention,” he said. “There’s an interest in taking precautionary action in a setting like this.”

FOLLOWING THE BEAUTY ROUTINE

NAIL TREATMENTS

BY SIAN WU
Examiner Contributor

Tien Tran’s decision to make her own nail salon in the Central District spacious and well-ventilated is the result of having to endure years of working in highly fumed nail salons -— an uncomfortable workplace that she felt was taking a toll on her health.

“I wasn’t aware it was affecting me because I got kind of immune to it, but later on I just felt more and more fatigued and irritable.” she says. “My doctor said that it could be because of the fumes, and if I wanted to do something about it, I’d have to either change my situation or get rid of the fumes.”

Her ventilation system at Couture Nails & Spa is on at all times, and she makes sure to cap the products tightly between each use. She believes these steps make a difference, and says her customers appreciate it. “The main thing is the air quality. People don’t want to spend a lot of time in a salon that smells so much.”

The fumes in a nail salon are often unbearable for its customers, but that temporary anxiety doesn’t compare to the perpetual discomfort of nail salon workers, who have to breathe the fumes day in and day out. A majority of those nail salon technicians are Vietnamese women, who have made a niche out of this industry. As a result, the health hazards associated with the dangerous chemicals in these products also affect the population of Vietnamese women disproportionately.

That’s one of the reasons why the Missoula Montana-based group Women’s Voices for the Earth recently published the report “Glossed Over: Health Hazards Associated with Toxic Exposure in Nail Salons,” which examines the health effects of the chemicals formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate — potentially harmful chemicals that have been related to miscarriage, respiratory disease and reproductive abnormalities.

The report found that pregnant women are particularly vulnerable, because the chemicals can lead to developmental disorders in infants. A survey in the report found that many Vietnamese women simply quit their jobs when they become pregnant, to avoid health risks to the baby. The language barrier makes it all the more difficult for nail technicians to improve their work situation, since important safety information is not required to be translated into Vietnamese, or any other language.

Many consumers are getting increasingly worried about the possible toxic health effects of chemicals in nail products. Last year, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics launched a letter campaign targeting nail product companies who refused to sign onto their campaign, which advocated for the removal of hazardous chemicals.

As consumers and health and environmental groups continued to raise awareness, leading cosmetics companies started removing the chemicals. Just last week OPI, the number one nail product provider for salons across the country, announced that it has begun removing toluene, a hazardous solvent, from some of their lines. This came on the heels of an announcement last spring that they would begin removing dibutyl phthalate. The reformulated products are not available immediately, but should be available to the public within a few months.

“This recent move is an example of the good faith efforts of manufacturers in removing toxic ingredients in response to consumer and community based activism,” said Alexandra Gorman, director of Science and Research at Women’s Voices for the Earth. “We don’t think salons are dangerous for customers. Taking chemicals like toluene out of these products are great for everyone, but it’s really the workers, who are working with the chemicals all day every day, who have the most concentrated dose, and are most at risk.”

Unlike the medicines and food that go in our bodies, the FDA does not review or approve cosmetics before they go on the market. Instead the FDA relies on its Cosmetics Voluntary Registration Program, which allows cosmetics manufacturers to voluntarily report to the FDA adverse reactions to their products.

Because of the lack of regulation at the federal or state level, salon workers must take it upon themselves to protect their workers. But not all salon owners are as conscientious as Tien Tran. Many salon owners suspect that these nail care products contain hazardous chemicals — their dizzy spells or eye irritation are a sure sign — but trust that if the product is available for the general public, it must be safe.

California has moved forward on legislation to inform the public about hazardous chemicals in nail care and cosmetics products, and similar legislation, the Washington Safe Cosmetics Act of 2007, has been proposed in Washington, but it is not likely to pass this year. The passage of the act would result in better notification of consumers and employees of toxic chemicals, and the health department could require manufacturers to provide data on possible health hazards associated with chemicals.

The Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) has been promoting environmental issues with businesses for over a decade. “We are encouraged that more and more companies are realizing that consumers care about how the products they buy affect their health and the environment,” said Charlie Cuniff, executive director. They will be working with local government agencies and the group Community Coalition for Environmental Justice to help the local nail salon industry make the transition to less toxic products.

Couture Nails & Spa is located at 1920 Yesler Way in the Central District.

The report “Glossed Over” made several recommendations to eliminate the harmful exposure to thousands of young women employed in the nail salon industry:

• Reformulate nail salon products to take out toxic ingredients.

• Provide nail salon technicians with better safety information on toxic exposure.

• Improve ventilation in nail salons

• Pass national legislation to prevent the use of toxic chemicals in cosmetic products.

• Conduct more research on long term effects of low-level exposure to chemicals found in nail salons.

To look up the safety ratings of different cosmetics and brands, visit the online database Skin Deep: www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep. To see a copy of the report, go to www.womenandenvironment.org.

By LISA STIFFLER
P-I REPORTER

You’re buying organic vegetables, ecologically safe cleaning products and natural-fiber T-shirts — but what about your nail salon, which smells more like an industrial paint shop than a place of beauty?

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday is awarding two local non-profit groups $100,000 to help nail salons go green — or at least greener.

Salons use polishes, solvents and chemicals to make acrylic nails, some of which contain ingredients that can cause a range of health ailments including cancer, mental confusion and birth defects. The fumes and skin contact can pose a risk to salon workers and customers alike.

“It’s a health issue overall,” said Charlie Cunniff, executive director of the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, one of the recipients of the grant, dubbed the “Toxic Beauty” project.

The issue is a matter of environmental justice, an area of environmental protection that targets low-income and minority populations, who often bear the brunt of pollution and related threats.

“The interesting environmental justice issue here is that the owners and operators (of the nail salons) are largely Vietnamese, but the clientele is largely African American — not exclusively — but to a large degree,” Cunniff said. “It’s an interesting intersection between two communities.”

The three-year project will be a partnership between Cunniff’s organization and the Seattle-based Community Coalition for Environmental Justice. His group will focus on the shop owners and workers, while the latter will address the customer side.

“We really want to look at community education about what people are putting into and onto their bodies,” said Melissa Carnay, project lead for the Community Coalition of Environmental Justice.

The non-profit groups will be researching chemicals that would be safer to use in the salons.

They’ll be figuring out if the alternative products are effective and readily available through distributors.

Carnay said she wants to empower women to know that they can lobby nail-polish makers to provide a safer product.

Another focus will be on installing equipment to reduce exposure to the chemicals, including simple fixes such as providing salons with stainless steel containers with tight-sealing lids for disposing cotton balls soaked in solvent.

More-involved projects could be the installation of ventilation systems.

The goal is to target all the aspects of the industry, from manufacturer to customer.

“We think it’s a good project,” said Running Grass, environmental justice program manager for the EPA’s Northwest office. “It is unique, and we are excited about the fact that they are trying a comprehensive approach.”

Over the next three months, she developed a bad cough. Doctors at first suspected pneumonia, but it worsened in spite of antibiotics. When she collapsed at her desk in October 2006, barely able to breathe, she learned she had what doctors call “occupational asthma.”

In other words, she was allergic to work.

This time of year there is a lot of sneezing and coughing in the workplace — spring is allergy season. But for some, the cause of the misery is not what’s outside, but what’s within.

While it sounds like a punch line, or a handy excuse for avoiding the office, workplace allergy, specifically occupational asthma, accounts for about 10 percent of asthma cases in the United States, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Occupational asthma alone is estimated to be responsible for 24.5 million missed workdays nationwide annually, said Dr. Karin Pacheco, an occupational medicine specialist at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, which specializes in respiratory illness.

Work-induced allergy is fairly simple to diagnose: the symptoms worsen as the workday progresses, and lessen after you leave. And you feel fine on weekends and vacations.

Much more complicated is what to do about it. The only cure is to avoid the allergy trigger. That may be possible when your trigger is peanuts, but how do you earn a living when your trigger is the place you work?

An allergic reaction is an overreaction of the immune system, causing everything from rashes to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Sometimes the reaction occurs the first time a substance is encountered, but allergies more commonly develop after repeated exposure.

Although even immunologists use the terms allergy and sensitivity interchangeably, there is a difference. Allergic sensitivity means an allergy to a specific allergen like ragweed; sensitivity refers to a nonspecific irritant. The headache you get after being exposed to pungent room freshener, for instance, indicates a sensitivity to an irritant, while the swelling of your throat when you eat shrimp is an allergic response. In other words, an allergy can kill while a sensitivity just makes you miserable.

Nearly every workplace has potential triggers. The Mayo Clinic Web site (mayoclinic.com) lists 16 professions at risk for occupational asthma, including veterinarian (exposure to dander), cabinet maker (wood dust), cleaning staff (disinfectants), baker (dust from flour and grain) and hairdresser (chemicals and fumes).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov) has guidelines for handling these and other substances, and masks, ventilation systems and exposure rotations go a long way toward reducing allergies at work. But some people suffer even with the best of practices.

Severe allergies fall under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to make reasonable changes in the workplace to enable an employee to do the job. And allergies developed at work often fall under workers’ compensation laws. But both routes can be complex and capricious, and redress is often dependent on the attitude of the employer.

Mark Strikwerda, 55, said that his employer, the North County Fire Protection District in Fallbrook, Calif., did all it could to help him. He began fighting fires 32 years ago and was healthy until March 2005, when, following a particularly smoky blaze, he developed what he called “the worst sore throat.” The throat pain ebbed, he said, but he was left with a cough he could not shake. By June, he appeared so ill that firehouse medics drove him to a hospital, where the oxygen level in his blood was found to be low.

After being told he had occupational asthma, Mr. Strikwerda spent nine months on paid disability, trying to find a medical regimen that would return him to work. Eventually he took an office job with the fire department, but not only is he not permitted to fight fires, he cannot even stand near the idling trucks: exhaust undoes him.

While he describes his job as “a gift, and I’m grateful for it,” he said that a firefighter who can’t fight fires is like “a thoroughbred who isn’t allowed to run.” He plans to retire soon.

Other employers are not quite as accommodating. An investment banker in Washington, who asked for anonymity for fear of being seen as “difficult” by future employers, described in an e-mail message the months he spent sneezing in a dank basement office.

“Soon I felt lightheaded and wheezy,” he wrote. “People coming into my office would comment that something wasn’t right about the air quality. Then for five days straight I had a bloody nose, ultimately warranting a visit to the ear, nose and throat doctor.”

His constant complaints inspired the installation of another filter on the ventilation system, which improved the situation somewhat. After he left the job, he wrote, “the company deemed my old office uninhabitable and no one has worked there since.”

Conflicts over work-related irritants and allergens can end up in court. Last July, Susan McBride, who works in the planning department of the City of Detroit, sued the city in United States District Court for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Ms. McBride, her lawsuit says, suffers from severe migraines, dizziness, nausea, earaches and sinus and breathing problems when exposed to strong scents, and she regularly became ill at work when a colleague arrived wearing perfume. The colleague refused to stop spritzing (though she did agree to unplug an air freshener) and the women’s bosses refused to ban scents in the office.

The case created a burst of comment on Web sites like overlawyered.com and breathefreeordie.com. The chatter on Overlawyered tended to suggest that Ms. McBride was an example of all that is wrong with the legal system; Breathe Free respondents seemed inclined toward canonizing her. Dozens of workers contacted her lawyer, Ann Curry Thompson, who is now bringing similar suits in Texas and Ohio.

Ms. Thompson said Ms. McBride is still going to work, armed with antihistamines, painkillers and inhalers. No trial date has been set.

As for Ms. Mulcahy, she wore a mask at the office, hoping for a return to good health when the dust literally settled. But she still coughed, and when she requested an air quality test and asked whether the ventilation system was clogged, “they started treating me like a potential lawsuit, giving me bad reviews and sending me for meetings with H.R.,” Ms. Mulcahy said.

So she left in February for an office that does not make her cough as often, though she knows that as a general rule, once allergic is always allergic. “I still can’t go into a restaurant with candles, or walk by the horses in Central Park,” she said. “For the rest of my life I’ll be reminded of that one job.”

By LISA BELKIN

Published: May 1, 2008