A new dust-collecting device was developed to assess surface lead loading rates in houses in communities contaminated with lead oxide dust used for caulking in nearby boat-repair yards. The device consists of two small glass sheets with total area of 1,200 cm(2) placed in two plastic trays suspended from the ceiling in the house for 3 months before wiping and sending the dust specimen for determination of lead content using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. After a pilot trial in four households, further data were collected from 43 matched pairs of boat-caulkers' and neighboring control households. All devices were retained in the house for 3 months without any complaint. Static measurements of lead dust levels were also assessed in all households. The values significantly discriminated high from low lead exposure households (p = 0.015) and provided good correlations with floor lead loading (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, r = 0.39 to 0.62) and dust lead content (r = 0.53 to 0.64). This sampling method is an alternative to others which consume more household space or require a longer collection period.

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Objectives Nail workers are exposed to many hazardous chemicals. Despite many warnings about health problems among nail workers in other countries, data concerning exposure to chemical hazards among nail workers is still limited in Vietnam. In this study, we aimed to identify exposure to volatile organic compounds and their relationship with occupational symptoms among Vietnamese female nail salon workers. Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted in Danang, Vietnam, from January 2019 to September 2019. Total 42 personal passive samplers were collected to evaluate 12 substances from 21 nail workers (15 salons) twice a week. We chose one representative worker from each of the nine salons with less than six workers and two representative workers from each of the six salons with over five workers for personal sampling based on the principle of similar exposure groups. We interviewed a total of 100 nail workers in 15 salons and 100 office workers in offices adjacent to the salons to compare occupational symptoms among them. Results The commonly detected compounds in nail salons were acetone (97.6%), butyl acetate (83.3%), and ethyl acetate and ethyl methacrylate (78%). The concentration of total target VOCs was related to the number of serviced customers, the concentration of CO 2 , and general ventilation used. The subjective symptoms were significantly higher for the nail workers than for the comparison subjects, that is, headache, nausea, nose irritation, skin irritation, shortness of breath, and confusion. Among 100 nail workers, nose irritation was significantly higher for nail workers who were exposed to acetone at levels exceeding the Vietnam occupational exposure limit (VOEL) adjusted with the Brief‐Scala model. Conclusions Exposure to VOCs such as acetone in nail salons results in occupational symptoms among workers.