AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Evaluation of Low-Cost Materials for VOC Removal in Nail Salons
AARON LAMPLUGH, Sankaranarayanan Ravichandran, Shelly Miller, Lupita Montoya, University of Colorado Boulder
Abstract Number: 613 Working Group: Control and Mitigation Technology
Abstract Nail salon workers are often occupationally exposed to compounds like xylene, toluene, and formaldehyde, which are known to cause skin and eye irritation, respiratory problems, allergies, and cancer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Asian, Latino, and African American employees account for 72% of the “Miscellaneous Personal Appearance Workers” subgroup, which includes manicurists, pedicurists, and skin care specialists. Consequently, related health effects in this industry affect minority populations in disproportionate ways in the United States.
Exposure to hazardous indoor air pollutants is traditionally mitigated by increasing natural ventilation or by installing mechanical ventilation systems. There are, however, limitations to these control strategies. Results from previous work in our group showed the removal of formaldehyde by porous media like expanded clay, Growstone and coco coir using an architectural module and column studies. Previous research in our lab also demonstrated that synthetic jet actuators (SJAs) can induce fluid vectoring and increase contaminant uptake by sorption materials.
This research further investigates the use of low-cost materials (e.g., coco coir and biochar) to remove formaldehyde from indoor air through sorption processes. The potential enhancement of the rate of removal is also being investigated using localized ventilation generated by SJAs. The combination of these mechanisms will then be investigated in real occupational environments like nail salons.