# nail salon exhaust



## JMORRISON (Aug 9, 2010)

Proposed nail salon with 8 nail stations and 10 pedicure stations.  Exhaust is shown as a 340 cfm fan over each group of 4 nail tables.  They say pedicure is for foot massage only, no exhaust required????

I always enjoy IMC code language clear as mud: "For nail salons, the required exhaust shall include ventilation tables or other systems that capture contaminants and odors at their source and are capable of exhausting 50 cfm per station."

Will a 340 cfm exhaust fan at 7'-6" above capture contaminants and odors at their source?  If we capture all of the contaminants do we ruin the feel good chemical effect of the manicure?


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## peach (Aug 9, 2010)

well, the feel good effect is getting high from the acetone, usually.  A regular manicure (or pedicure) doesn't produce any more fumes than painting them at home.. it's when you have the acrylic nails applied is where there are fumes.  (Trust me on that)..

I think the whole point is to exhaust the fumes from the salon... otherwise they linger... and linger... and linger...


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## cda (Aug 9, 2010)

What edition of imc are you under???

Use to be you could not recirculate the air


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## RJJ (Aug 10, 2010)

What year code? Today it is supposed to be direct source. Many nail station manufacturers have designed tables with a direct source intake right at the table.


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## Francis Vineyard (Aug 10, 2010)

“At their source” was begun with the 2003 IMC.   Breathing the dust and fumes before it is captured then “7’-6” above” is not at the source, see 401.6 and 502.1.  We require furniture such as RJJ mentioned or approved systems designed for nail salon stations.

Per 501.3 the shop ventilation should be calibrated to be under slight negative pressure though inefficient from the IECC standpoint it increases safety and reduces complaints from customers.


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## klarenbeek (Aug 10, 2010)

If you need some extra ammo for why exhaust needs to be at the source rather than at the ceiling, check out the links below.  They were an eye opener for me (my wife is not the type to go get her nails done!).

http://www.womenandenvironment.org/campaignsandprograms/SafeCosmetics/WVE.NailSalon.Report.pdf

http://www.carefair.com/Beauty/Nails/Toxic_Nail_Polish_846.html

By the way, every nail salon Iv'e seen with pedicure stations do nails at those stations. Customers aren't going to put their feet up on tables designed for hands to get their toenails done.  The contractor will have to get creative to exhaust the pedicure stations.


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## north star (Aug 10, 2010)

** * **

It has been suggested to me as one method to to use in gaining compliance
for the exhaust requirements, would be to have a separate room [ with
a door that closes and seals ] just for the ped. chairs, so that an exhaust
system could pull a negative pressure on it.........Problem is that many / most
females want to be able to gab and listen in on gabbing while showing off
their new and improved nails, ...designs, ...colors.......Toxins and chemicals !!

That clientel isn't worried about toxins and chemicals.......Segmenting the
females off from one another won't bring in or keep customers.
Exhaust codes... they don't need no [ stinkin' ] exhaust codes !    

** * **


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## RJJ (Aug 10, 2010)

I guess I will have to make a road trip and see what all this pedicure is about! I am a firm believer in hands on training or should I say feet on training.


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## klarenbeek (Aug 10, 2010)

Northstar,

Exhausting a sealed room to keep a negative pressure in it doesn't meet the intent of "at their source" in my judgement.  It's not just to keep the fumes from migrating throughout the salon, but to get them out right away so the person doing the pedicure isn't breathing the fumes all day long every day.  The customers might be subject to the toxins once in awhile for short periods, but the employees would be breathing them for extended periods on a regular basis.


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## north star (Aug 10, 2010)

** * **

klarenbeek,

I agree that it does not meet the ' intent '  or  the ' letter '  of the codes.
It was just a suggestion by a recent applicant......I do not know much about
the employees inhaling the fumes / smells / other for extended periods of
time, I try to stay out of those places.......Maybe the Fire Dept. officials on
here have a better grasp of the quantities and levels of toxicity that
the employees are subjected to.

When I am asked to review plans for these type of businesses, I usually
get "shot down" pretty quick,  whenever I start informing the applicants
of the "exhaust-at-the-source" requirements. 

** * **


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## JMORRISON (Aug 11, 2010)

No one wants to pay for the ventilation tables and "at the source" is not defined.  Last one of these I reviewed used exhaust grilles at ceiling over each table and provided make up air with duct outlets in wall adjacent to each table.  exhaust and make up were checked with flow hood with HVAC running and stopped.  Balance was good.

Labor and Industries should be regulating the employee protection but here in WA State it is not addressed


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## FredK (Aug 11, 2010)

I'm with JMorrison.  No one wants to buy the tables and have tried all sorts of things to get out doing the work.

It really kills the fun when you ask for an Mechanical Engineer's design as that adds to the cost.

Here when someone comes in with an I want to..., I send them up to the community advocate to complain about the why they need to do that when every other site (pre-06code) isn't doing it.  She's got way better at explaining the code to them then me after the first two came in.  Before that it'd be on the manager's desk the same day. (The Fred's requiring them to meet code and it'll cost them some money cr@p does get old.)  Another person telling them from the manager's office really helps.

RJJ that research on company time and money????


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## cda (Aug 11, 2010)

and how are they meeting

403.2.1 #3????   IMC 2009


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## north star (Aug 11, 2010)

** * **



> *cda asked, " ...and how are they meeting 403.2.1, #3 ???? IMC 2009*


You mean besides throwing a temper tantrum,...screaming "bloody murder",
...you're being unfair, ...you do remember that campaign contribution don't you,
...you didn't make XXX business do it,  ...that's going to cost me more money,
...I thought you wanted my business located here, ...that's going to cost me time and
delay the project even longer, ...if I have to do that, then I'll just locate my
business over in the neighboring city/county/town/borough and on and on.

** * **


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## Dr. J (Aug 11, 2010)

First of all, "at the source" is near the nails, not 6 feet above the nails.  However, CDA hit the real issue:

_Where mechanical exhaust is required by Note b in Table 403.3, recirculation of air from such spaces shall be prohibited. All air supplied to such spaces shall be exhausted, including any air in excess of that required by Table 403.3._ (this is in 2006 as well as 2009).

The entire space needs to be exhausted.  100% exhaust, 100% outside air.  If they do the nail work in an enclosed booth, then they could meet the requirement and still recirculate the remainder of the shop.


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## Dr. J (Aug 11, 2010)

Also, the OP is quoting the 2009 IMC.  I don't see how a ceiling exhaust could come anywhere close to being an "other system" equivalent to "a ventilation table".  Further, in 2009, Table 403 is pretty clear in requiring .6cfm/sf exhaust for the entire nail salon.  Add in 403.2.1 and there is no doubt a 100% exhaust 100% outside air system WITH exhaust grilles at the table is required.  The 2006 is more vague about ventilation tables with simply "at the source", but the 100% exhaust/OA is still required based on 403.2.1.


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## north star (Aug 11, 2010)

** * **

Dr. J. ( and others ),

What if citing the various code sections  [ in any IMC edition  ] got
you on the wrong side of the "powers-that-be", and if you were
adamant about them, ...quite possibly would get you terminated?

Now, do you see how a ceiling exhaust fan will work [ an "equivalent" ]
instead of "captured at the source"  type station? 

** * **


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## FredK (Aug 12, 2010)

North Star in reponse to your last post.

The first fight lasted about 6 months before they complied.  They did the temper tantrum,
got upper management involved and even had the commmunity advocate screaming at
me then my boss.  Finally, the community advocate got the message that this is the what
needs to be done and was on our side.  Until then it was a real struggle to keep explaining
the reason why to the owner.  Seems every time one would think that it was clear, her
husband would rile things up.  Main thing is the cost of a table to do nails much less
than something to do the toenails.

After that if they want to complain, that door is closed.  Until then it was touch and go
about who would be here after the dust settled.


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## klarenbeek (Aug 12, 2010)

The ceiling is not the source of the fumes, where the work is being done is.  Exhaust at the ceiling is one of the worst places the exhaust could be taken from.  The fumes get pulled up right past the people's face---where they breath.  Fortunately, I have a CBO that listens to us and backs us, especially when we have evidence to back us up.  After I showed him the information from the links I posted above, he was more than ready to back me up. My attitude is if someone higher up the chain of command wants to overrule me, they can, but my inspection records are ALWAYS noted that way

 As far as cost, there's more than one way to skin a cat.  I had one salon where they used regular tables and simply dropped the exhaust duct down between them with a grill at table height going out either side to pick up 2 tables.  A residential style erv was used for exhaust, with a second doing the space exhaust.  This was a fairly simple solution designed by a contractor that does almost exclusively residential work but has a good head on his shoulders.


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## Dr. J (Aug 12, 2010)

Deleted - double post


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## Dr. J (Aug 12, 2010)

I have indeed lost clients by telling them what they want to do is wrong, or that we would have no part of it.  That is my obligation to the public as a PE.

"The powers that be" are the ones who adopted the codes.  If they did not want a 100% exhaust system with ventilation tabels for a nail salon, they should have adopted a different code, or amended the one they did adopt.  Until then, all you are doing is enforcing what they determined to be law.

After all, what would happen if the "powers that be" told law enforcement agencies not to enforce the immigration laws they passed, and threw the ones who did in jail?   Oh, wait...


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## JMORRISON (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for all of the great input.  This site truly makes my job easier when you speak to people with good information.  A little better definition of what is desired would be helpful.  Here is link to WA State L & I info on ventilation I am going to send to applicant to use

http://lni.wa.gov/Safety/Topics/AtoZ/Ventilation/default.asp


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