SAN FRANCISCO – On Wednesday, November 30, Matthew Tejada, director of U.S. EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice, joined state and local leaders to highlight the importance of reducing chemical exposure for nail salon workers. EPA also announced the award of an Environmental Justice grant to Asian Health Services, a partner with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, to pilot a microloan program that will help salon owners achieve “healthy nail salon” standards.
Brief remarks were made followed by a tour of LeAnn’s Nails, located in Alameda, focusing on the equipment and practices that make it a certified Healthy Nail Salon. The roster of guests and speaekrs included:
• Matthew Tejada, Director, Office of Environmental Justice, U.S. EPA
• Ana Mascareñas, Assistant Director for Environmental Justice, CA Department of Toxic Substances Control
• Julia Liou, Director of Program Planning and Development, Asian Health Services and Co-founder, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
• Lan-Ahn Truong, Owner, LeAnn’s Nails
• Agnes Cheung, Director of Business Lending, Working Solutions
Nail salon workers face unique environmental and health challenges from prolonged exposure to chemicals known or suspected to be carcinogenic and reproductively harmful. Operating throughout California, the Healthy Nail Salon program was created to address the impact of long-term chemical exposure on employees.
