During the 13 years that Connie Nguyen has worked in Bay Area nail salons, she's seen numerous friends and co-workers become ill. She, too, has come down with mysterious skin rashes and respiratory problems. A few years ago, experiencing shortness of breath, she went to the doctor.

"The X-ray technician asked me if I'd been smoking a long time," said Nguyen, 48. "It shocked me. I have never smoked in my life."

Amid a booming beauty industry, California's legions of nail salon workers - most of them Asian immigrant women - are being exposed to hazardous chemicals in cosmetic products, chemicals that have largely gone unregulated because state law exempts cosmetics and personal care products.

With evidence mounting that prolonged exposure to chemicals is putting these vulnerable workers at risk for a host of health problems, state Sen. Carole Migden held (more...)