Reaction to toxins in ‘nontoxic’ nail polish
Apr 11, 2012, 2:15 PM
(AP) – Reaction to a report by California regulators that found that some nail polishes commonly found in salons and advertised as free of a so-called “toxic trio” of chemicals actually have high levels of agents linked to birth defects and other illnesses:
“It’s disappointing. It’s disgusting and misleading. But I feel like companies lie about everything, especially nowadays when it sells to be `organic.'”
_ Nail salon customer Dawn Boyce, 33, of San Francisco.
“Physically, I can tell after eight or ten hours working, the chemicals give you very bad headache and affects you mentally. My eyes itch. My nose itch. But as soon as I walk outside the salon, I feel much better. I hope the state government think about this and make it by law that if you say `no’ and you have it, they have to have punishment or penalty.”
_ Tina Bui, who has been a manicurist for 17 years in Marin County, Calif.
“We know there are exposures at salons, both to workers and customers, and we’re concerned about potential harm. Our strategy first and foremost is to shed light on the reality of what’s in these products and put this information out to everyone.”
_ Karl Palmer, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s pollution prevention performance manager who oversaw the report.
“(The Nail Manufacturers Council) condemns any manufacturer misleading customers about the ingredients in their products. The public should, however, be aware that nearly the entire nail polish industry voluntarily took steps years ago to remove toluene and DBP from their products.”
_ Myra Irizarry, director of government affairs for the Nail Manufacturers Council.
“Consumers and workers deserve to be protected. While we have made great strides in ensuring sanitary conditions at salons, the presence of dangerous chemicals still persists. There are no excuses for manufacturers to mislabel their products. If they can’t clean up their act on their own, then we have no choice but to force those changes by law.”
_ California state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco.
“We as a manufacturer do not use toluene in our nail polish, or any of those three (chemicals). Perhaps the polish was contaminated through the lab tests or by some other method.”
_ Newton Luu, owner of LeChat Nail Care Products, which makes a polish the report found contained traces of toluene but was labeled as free of the chemical.
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