Economical Ventilation Effectiveness to Reduce Hazardous Chemical Emissions for a Nail-Salon Worker

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate economical ventilation effectiveness to reduce hazardous materials exposure and damage of workers by analyzing exposure amount of noxious substances under various ventilation conditions of nail salon for indoor environments. Research design, data, and methodology – This study was carried out with cooperation of Nail shop located in SeongNam city to involve an analysis of the environmental impact indoor air quality, pollutant exposure and economical cost-effectiveness in the nail workplace. The hazardous substances were PM-10(Particulate Matter-10㎛), VOCs(Volatile Organic Compounds) and Formaldehyde, which are the major materials of nail workplace. Results – PM-10 is reduced by about 60% with air cleaner, forced artificial ventilation by 32%, and natural ventilation by about 12%. TVOCs and Formaldehyde showed similar efficiency (80~100%) after natural ventilation and ventilation after 60 minutes. The removal efficiencies of VOCs and formaldehyde were similar to those of natural ventilation and mechanical ventilation system. However, in case of dust, natural ventilation was reduced by artificial ventilation system due to inflow of external dust during natural ventilation. Conclusions – If the pollution degree of outdoor air is not high, air volume is high, and natural ventilation is performed when the air conditioning and heating system is not operated. Even at the end of the work, it keeps operating for 60 minutes to remove the pollutants generated. Results of this analysis demonstrated that the worker environment can be improved by adopting institutional legislation and guidelines for ventilation.