Indoor Air Quality in Nail Salons

Developments in State Policy

 

Utah

Citation: Utah Code § 15A-3-402

Available: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15A/Chapter3/15A-3-S402.html.

 

Summary:  A 2017 Utah law adopted the 2015 International Mechanical Code (IMC) with amendments to the IMC provisions governing ventilation in nail salons. The law replaces the IMC source capture system provisions with a modified source capture requirement for all new and existing nail salon manicure stations where a nail technician files or shapes an acrylic nail. In 2023, Utah legislators adopted the 2021 version of the IMC with the same modifications.

Key Provisions:

  • Source Capture System Standards. State law deletes and replaces IMC Table 403.3.1.1 note h with a requirement that: “A nail salon shall provide each manicure station where a nail technician files or shapes an acrylic nail….with a) a source capture system equipped with, at minimum, a MERV 8 particulate filter and an activated carbon filter that is capable of filtering and recirculating air to inside space at a rate not less than 50 cfm per station; or b) a source capture system capable of exhausting not less than 50 cfm per station.” (Utah Code §15A-3-402(1).)  If a nail salon meets these requirements it is not required to comply with the labeling, listing, or testing requirements in IMC 301.7 or 301.8.
  • Location of Source Capture Systems. In complying with the above requirements, if a manicure table does not have factory-installed source capture system inlets for exhausting air, the salon must provide the manicure table with inlets for recirculating or exhausting air not more than 12 inches horizontally or vertically from the point of any acrylic chemical application.
  • Application. These requirements are applicable to three categories of nail salons: a new nail salon that begins construction after July 1, 2017; an existing nail salon that remodels after July 1, 2017; and all nail salons beginning on July 1, 2020.
  • Enforcement.  Pursuant to the state’s licensing law for cosmetology and associated professions, the failure to maintain and clean a source capture system is considered unlawful conduct. A violation of this requirement is grounds for issuance of a citation and fine, as well as immediate suspension of a license. The law establishes a fine of not more than $1,000 for the first offense, not more than $2,000 for a second offense, and for any subsequent offense a fine of up to $2,000 for each day of a continued offense. See Utah Code §§ 58-11a-502-503.

In addition to these requirements, Utah’s health rules governing sanitation in cosmetology facilities state thatCosmetologists/barbers, estheticians, and nail technicians shall limit the accumulation of strong, irritating vapors in a cosmetology facility by: (i) ventilating any areas where such vapors originate; (ii) keeping the applicable chemical products in a separate room with a closable, tight-fitting door; and (iii) closing the packages or containers of chemical products after use; or (iv) selecting chemical products without strong, irritating vapors.” (Utah Admin. Code R392-702-5.) The health rules also require the operator of a cosmetology facility involved in the practice or instruction of nail technology to obtain from the local health department an "informational notice" and post it in a location that is readily visible to persons entering the facility (with an exemption for cosmetology facilities that have a current permit issued by the local health department). (Utah Admin. Code R392-702-4.) The informational notice, which is developed and updated as needed by the state health department, includes: "the local health department's contact information; a link to the website containing the health rules; a "list of specific provisions of [the rules] commonly found out of compliance in a cosmetology facility;" a link or QR code to an official complaint form; and any other information the state health department determines relevant for encouraging sanitary conditions in a cosmetology facility. (Utah Admin. Code R392-702-3.)

 

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