Georgia Beauty Salons Seek to Reduce Hazardous Chemical Exposure

Federal officials and Georgia beauty professionals have formed an alliance to reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the partnership with the Concerned Beauty Professionals at Georgia Tech this week.

Officials say the alliance is aimed at providing hair salon owners and employees with information and training to protect employees from products carrying hazardous chemicals, like formaldehyde.

Federal officials say formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and nose, cause allergic reactions and is linked to nose and lung cancer.

OSHA officials say they’ve found formaldehyde in the air at salons where hair smoothing products were used. Officials say the formaldehyde levels were higher than OSHA limits, even though products that were tested had labels saying they were formaldehyde free.