these salons may have been particularly conscientious,
with a program for the improvement of their working
environment. As both explanations are possible, there
is no actual reason to believe that the exposure levels
in
the salons are not representative as a group average.
The aim of this study was to describe the levels of
different pollutants in different ventilation conditions.
Therefore, the samples were taken in December 1993
and December 1994, with a year between the two
measurements. However, the activities in the salons
were about the same both times, and the difference in
time should not have influenced the results (Table 2).
Few exposure studies from hairdressing salons
exist. A report from Denmark reported comparable
concentrations of ammonia in two hairdressing salons
(Personal communication). The highest concentrations of ammonia was 5.7mg/m3. The measured
concentrations of ethanol are comparable with
reported ethanol concentrations in the Netherlands.
(Muiswinkel el al., 1997).
To our knowledge, there is not any documentation
about the exposure of phenylenediamines and diaminotoluene in hairdressing salons.