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PubMed1994

Byssinosis and tuberculosis among textile mill workers in Bahar Dar, Ethiopia.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1991 on 433 workers of a cotton mill in Bahar Dar, northern Ethiopia. The study consisted of symptom evaluation using a standardized questionnaire, lung function tests, chest x-ray, and measurement of dust concentration in the various work areas. A hundred non-exposed hospital workers were included as control group. The overall prevalence of byssinosis among the exposed subjects was 45.5%, being highest among carding (57.9%) and ring frame workers (57.1%). Lower prevalences were found in weavers (36.7%) and those working in the preparatory unit (32.1%). Chronic bronchitis occurred in 48.8% of workers in the carding section, and in none of the control group. Bronchial asthma occurred in 11.5% of workers in the carding and ring frame sections, and in 28.6% of the workers in the waste section. Twelve per cent of the control group had bronchial asthma. Tuberculosis was prevalent in 5.3% of the mill workers and in 2.1% of the control group. Ventilatory capacity (FEV1 and FVC) was significantly reduced in the exposed workers (p < 0.05). The study revealed that the prevalence of byssinosis and other respiratory disorders was extremely high among the cotton mill workers. In view of the above findings preventive measures deserve a high priority.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Laundering in the prevention of skin infections.

The statistics at the Hohenstein Institutes and the detergent industry show that the number of complaints due to skin irritations or allergies of washed laundry are relatively low. A clear interdependence between the number of complaints and the season of the year is existing. An interesting fact is that work wear made of cotton shows a relatively higher number of complaints than blends of polyester with cotton. The highest number of complaints results from operating theatre textiles, which is probably due to the exceptional strain of the skin of the operating-theatre staff by surgical disinfecting measures. During washing in household washing machines and also in the industrial sector it is mainly the mechanical action of the washing machines and the chemistry of the detergents which influence the textiles. The effects of the washing process on the textiles if assessed regarding the dermatological point of view, can go in two different directions: Changes of the textile itself and the formation of residues on the washed laundry, whereby the residues can be unintended, i.e. inevitable or desired, so to speak as finishing, for example optical brighteners, softeners, etc. The changes of the textile substance itself can result in a raising. This can either mean that the textile becomes more harsh in feel or fluffier. Textiles which become harsher only have little influence on the skin. Whereas the change to a fluffier textile has positive effects on the skin as there are so-called 'distance holders' formed on the textile surface, which prevents an early sticking of the textiles to a perspirating skin. This increases the wear comfort. Inevitable residues on the washed laundry can be caused by wear (this is not important), the washing water and the detergent. Within the detergents only the surfactants and alkalines are of interest. Desired residues are for example optical brighteners to increase the degree of whiteness, softeners, finishing baths (starch), scents and water-repellent finishes. Regarding special cases like for example flame-retardant finishes, antistatic additives and antimicrobial effects, there is only little experience available so far.

Detergents↗
PubMed2000

Natural organic fibers--health effects.

OBJECTIVES: Natural organic fibers are used in large quantities in the production of paper products and textiles. They are also constituents of food and added to food to promote health. The objective of this review is to evaluate the health effects of natural organic fibers. The health effects of dietary fibers are excluded from the review. METHODS: This is a literature review. RESULTS: Exposure to these fibers in industry is usually not characterized as fibers but as dust. Rather dusty conditions have been reported in both paper and textile industries with concentrations up to and above 30 mg/m3. Both in the paper and textile industry inorganic fibers may occur making it hard to evaluate health effects of natural organic fibers from studies of workers in the paper and textile industry. There seems to be no increased risk of mesothelioma, lung cancer or lung fibrosis in workers exposed to natural organic fibers in contrast to workers exposed to inorganic crystalline fibers as asbestos. However, workers with a heavy exposure to paper dust or textile dust seem to have an increased risk of obstructive lung disease and bronchitis. These effects have not been causally linked to the fibrous shape of the particles but rather to the dust, chemicals absorbed on the dust or microorganisms occurring together with the dust. There is some indication that work in the textile industry may increase the risk of sinonasal cancer, but the etiological agents are unknown. CONCLUSION: Natural organic fibers are not causally linked with the well-known effects of some inorganic fibers, i.e. mesothelioma, lung cancer, lung fibrosis or some pleural diseases. The health effects of natural organic fibers, e.g. irritative effects, seem not to be linked to their fibrous shape.

Cellulose↗
PubMed2000

[Surgical gowns and patient drapes in routine practice: discrepancy between requirements and reality]].

BACKGROUND: Since the law regulating medical devices was introduced, hospital staff can only use surgical textiles that can guarantee 100% protection against infection. Conventional cotton products have shown themselves to be unsuitable, and must be replaced with barrier textiles. However, the changeover to innovative barrier textiles has turned out to be more difficult than expected. There is uncertainty among the qualified staff regarding the choice of material because of a lack of legal standardization. The objective of our study was to uncover the existing discrepancies between clinical practice and the legal requirements. METHODS: Based on a literature review we examined the suitability of the available surgical textiles with regard to the requirements. We then analyzed the situation based on standardized questionnaires, which were sent out to basic care and maximum care hospitals. RESULTS: According to the currently published data, barrier textiles best fulfill the requirement criteria. In contrast, the hospital staff questioned in our situation analysis noticeably preferred cotton textiles for the surgical gowns. The most common reason given was comfort. The laminates were considered most suitable as coverage material. Forty-four percent of those responding to the survey proved to have large gaps in their knowledge of the law regulating medical devices. Furthermore, only 41% of the hospital personnel were aware of the plan to standardize the requirement criteria. CONCLUSION: We were able to confirm that there is considerable discrepancy between the requirements and practice. The reasons for this are ignorance and lack of enforcement of the existing requirements. In this respect we stress that a quick introduction of the planned European standards is urgently necessary.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed2001

Repeatability of in vitro measurements of the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) by spectrophotometry with automatic sampling.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Spectrophotometric assessment (in vitro) is the most established method for determining the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of textiles. Apart from stringent requirements for measurement precision, practical methods are required for the routine determination of the UPF. We report here spectrophotometric measurements of textiles using a newly developed autosampler. Measurement precision was evaluated under repeatable conditions. METHODS: Fifteen different textiles were spectrophotometrically assessed for the determination of the UPF. Sample handling inside the spectrophotometer was performed with a computer-controlled sampling device, capable of loading and unloading a textile sample from a magazine as well as rotating the sample perpendicular to the spectrometer beam. In order to evaluate the repeatability of measurements, one sample of each textile was assessed eight times under the same conditions in the same laboratory. RESULTS: A mean percentage of the standard error of 1% [E(UPF)] was calculated for the UPF measurements. For UPFs >30, a significantly higher E(UPF) was found (r=0.78; P<0.001). E(UV) (3.9%) of ultraviolet A (UVA) transmission differed significantly from E(UV) (1.1 %) of ultraviolet B (UVB) transmission (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Though a slight decrease of repeatability was observed for UVA transmission measurements and UPFs higher than 30, our data indicate a high measurement precision under repeatable conditions. In conclusion, spectrophotometric measurements of textiles with the aid of the autosampler presented have been shown to be highly practical, time saving and precise.

Automation↗
PubMed1979

Oral and pharyngeal cancer in the North-west and West Yorkshire regions of England, and occupation.

Patients with oral or pharyngeal cancer in the two main textile regions of England were matched for age and sex with patients having cancers not known to be associated with textile work. Data were recorded on age, sex, cancer site, and smoking, chewing and drinking habits together with dental and occupational history. There were 102 and 61 matched pairs of males and 52 and 60 matched pairs of females in the North-west and West Yorkshire regions respectively. There were significantly (P less than 0.05) more textile workers in the cases compared with their matched controls for only the females in the North-west. No particular type of textile work occurred more frequently for the cases than the controls in all four matched comparisons. Only for the males in the North-west were there significant differences (P less than 0.05) in the proportions of textile workers in the three cancer sites of the tongue, mouth and pharynx. These results do not confirm the association between textile work and oral or pharyngeal cancer found by the mortality study of Moss and Lee (1974). The results for the association between oral or pharyngeal cancer and smoking, drinking, chewing and wearing of dentures are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Potential applications of smart clothing solutions in health care and personal protection.

The rapid development in the fields of sensor and telecommunication technologies has created completely new possibilities also for the textile and clothing field. New smart textile and clothing systems can be developed by integrating sensors in the textile constructions. Application fields for these added-value products are e.g. protective clothing for extreme environments, garments for the health care sector, technical textiles, sport and leisure wear. Some products have already been introduced on the markets, but generally it can be stated that the development is only in its starting phase, and the expectations for the future are big. Many different aspects have to be considered in the development of the wearable technology products for the health care sector: medical problems and their diagnosis, sensor choice, data processing and telecommunication solutions, clothing requirements. A functional product can be achieved only if all aspects work together, and therefore experts from all fields should participate in the RTD projects. In the EC-funded project DE3002 Easytex clothing and textiles for disabled and elderly people were investigated. Some recommendations concerning durability, appearance, comfort, service and safety of products for different special user groups were defined, based on user questionnaires and seminars, general textile and clothing requirements and on laboratory test series."Clothing Area Network--Clan" is a research project aiming to develop a technical concept and technology needed in enabling both wired and wireless data and power transfer between different intelligent modules (user interfaces, sensors, CPU's, batteries etc.) integrated into a smart clothing system. Fire-fighters clothing system is chosen as the development platform, being a very challenging application from which the developed technology can be transferred to other protective clothing systems.

Absorbent Pads↗
PubMed1986

A case-referent study of cancer of the nasal cavity and sinuses in Hong Kong.

A case-referent study of cancer of the nasal cavity and sinuses (NCS) was conducted in Hong Kong where textile and garment manufacturing are major industries. The study population included 225 nasal cavity and sinus cancer cases (NCS), 224 nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) referents, and 226 all other malignancies (AOM) referents, diagnosed at the Institute of Radiology and Oncology from 1974 through 1981. A strikingly close similarity in occupational distribution between NPC referents and NCS cases was found. Compared to AOM referents, statistically significantly elevated odds ratios of association with nasal cavity and sinuses cancer were found among textile workers (OR, 2.93), fishermen (OR, 3.38), farmers (OR, 1.94) and construction workers (OR, 1.91) particularly for textile workers and fishermen with more than 15 years of employment (textile workers, OR 7.39), (fishermen, OR 3.72). Among textile workers, somewhat more elevated risks were found among weavers (OR, 4.72) after controlling for employment years. Slightly but not statistically significant elevated relative risks of NCS were also associated with those who smoked (OR 1.40) and those who were locally born in Hong Kong (OR 1.53). The known risk of nasopharyngeal cancer among fishermen and those originating from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong was also evident. These findings confirm an association of nasal cavity and sinuses cancer with textile work which has been previously suggested by other studies and provide new leads for further research on the environmental aetiology of cancer of the nasal cavity, sinuses and nasopharynx.

China↗
PubMed1992

Allergic contact dermatitis from formaldehyde resins in permanent press clothing: an underdiagnosed cause of generalized dermatitis.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Formaldehyde resins have been used to impart wrinkle resistance to clothing fabrics since 1926. After several patients with positive patch tests to formaldehyde resins had been examined, a study was undertaken of the records of all patch tests performed at the University of Louisville Patch Test Clinic and the Allergy Section of the Skin and Cancer Clinic of New York University Medical Center from January 1988 through April 1990 to determine the prevalence of positive patch-test reactions to formaldehyde-based textile resins and the clinical and demographic patterns associated with textile resin allergy. RESULTS: Seventeen patients were identified at the two centers. Twelve were allergic to formaldehyde as well as to formaldehyde textile resins. Several clinical patterns were found, including accentuation of dermatitis in areas of tight clothing, primary occurrence in clothing-covered areas, and a chronic recalcitrant course. Ethylene urea melamine formaldehyde resin was the best screening agent with 14 definite positive reactions and one equivocal reaction. CONCLUSION: Formaldehyde textile resin allergy is more common than has been previously recognized. Patch testing with one or more formaldehyde textile resins is indicated in patients with a particular pattern of dermatitis.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Some properties of a sequencing batch reactor system for removal of vat dyes.

Bio-sludge from a wastewater treatment plant could be used as an adsorbent of vat dye from textile wastewater. Resting bio-sludge gave a higher adsorption capacity than dead bio-sludge. The resting bio-sludge from a textile wastewater treatment plant gave relatively high COD, BOD5 and dye adsorption capacity of 364.4 +/- 4.3, 178.0 +/- 9.0 and 50.5 +/- 1.3 mg/g of bio-sludge, respectively, in synthetic textile wastewater containing 40 mg/l Vat Yellow 1. Another advantage of the bio-sludge was that, after washing with 0.1 N NaOH solution, it was reusable without any activity loss. Through treatment with a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system, both organic and dye in STIWW could be removed. The maximum dye (Vat Yellow 1), COD, BOD5 and TKN removal efficiencies of the SBR system under an MLSS of 2000 mg/l and an HRT of three days were 98.5 +/- 1.0%, 96.9 +/- 0.7%, 98.6 +/- 0.1% and 93.4 +/- 1.3%, respectively. Although, the dye and organic removal efficiencies of the SBR system with real textile wastewater were quite low, they could be increased by adding organic matters, especially glucose. The dye, COD, BOD5 and TKN removal efficiencies of the SBR system with glucose (0.89 g/l) supplemented textile industrial wastewater were 75.12 +/- 1.2%, 70.61 +/- 3.4%, 96.7 +/- 0.0%, and 63.2 +/- 1.1%, respectively.

Adsorption↗