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Results for “COTTON INDUSTRY”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

Characterization of airborne cotton dust concentrations in the non-textile cotton industry.

Workers in the "non-textile" cotton industry breathe a dust which is similar to the dust in the cotton spinning and weaving or "textile" industry. This exposure prompts the question of byssinosis prevalence and other respiratory disease in the non-textile cotton industry. NIOSH has completed a cross-sectional medical and environmental study evaluating the prevalence of byssinosis in five segments of the non-textile cotton industry. A total of 92 non-textile cotton facilities were evaluated, including cotton gins, cotton classing offices, cottonseed oil mills, cotton compress-warehouses, and waste utilization plants. This paper presents the results of the measurements of cotton dust levels and particle size distributions in these segments. Average elutriated dust concentrations for individual plants ranged from 101 to 2050 micrograms per cubic meter of air (micrograms/m3) in 35 cotton gins, 81 to 376 micrograms/m3 in 13 classing offices, 502 to 2041 micrograms/m3 in 18 cottonseed oil mills, 39 to 831 micrograms/m3 in 13 compress-warehouses, and 237 to 3968 micrograms/m3 in 13 waste utilization facilities. Results tend to be lower than those reported in the literature for non-textile operations.

Dust↗
PubMed1990

Mortality of workers in the British cotton industry in 1968-1984.

The mortality of 3458 cotton industry workers originally enrolled in a study of respiratory symptoms in the period 1968-1970 was followed to the end of 1984. Both the total mortality and the mortality from respiratory disease were less than expected, and they both decreased as length of service increased. However, for the subjects who initially reported byssinotic symptoms, the mortality from respiratory disease was slightly raised overall, and it increased with length of service. These patterns of mortality indicate a survivor effect (ie, a tendency for those with respiratory weakness to leave the industry), together with a long-term effect reflected in respiratory mortality on the health of those workers susceptible to the effects of cotton dust. The mortality from lung cancer was lower than expected, and it decreased with length of service. This finding is consistent with other observations that exposure to cotton dust may reduce the risk of lung cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

[Occupational lung diseases in Swiss cotton industry].

Classical byssinosis is hardly ever observed in Switzerland. The clinical picture of the other diseases of the lung occurring in the cotton industry is heterogeneous. In the present study the pathogenesis is considered allergic in the majority of the cases. Five typical, extensively investigated cases are presented. In provocation tests immediate asthmatic reactions were induced in the three patients who had positive immediate wheal-and-flare response to skin tests with an extract of cotton industry dust. Skin tests to common inhalants were negative. In addition, one patient showing a higher titer of precipitating antibodies against the cotton dust extract developed a 'dual' asthmatic reaction, with recurrent airway obstruction 6-7 h later, which was only partly reversible by beta 2-stimulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Mortality in the cotton industry workers: results of a cohort study.

The cohort consisted of persons found on the payroll of one of the Lódź cotton plants in 1964-1993 who were employed in the plant for at least 10 years. Death risk by causes was analysed using standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) calculated by the person-years method. The general population of Poland was used as the reference. In all, 7892 people were observed. As of December 31, 1995, the follow-up was completed for 7545 people (2852 men and 4693 women), i.e. the availability of the cohort was 95.6%. A total of 2069 deaths were recorded; the information on the cause of death was available for 97% of the subjects. In the male cohort, the level of the general mortality was the same as in the general population (SMR = 99). However, there was a significant increase in the number of deaths from diseases of the digestive system (SMR = 142) and larynx cancer (SMR = 188). The analysis of the results by production departments revealed in the weaving department significantly higher mortality from atherosclerosis (SMR = 141), peritoneal carcinoma (SMR = 1057) and melanoma (SMR = 677); and in the spinning department the increased risk of the hypertensive disease (SMR = 239), atherosclerosis (SMR = 175), and Hodgkin's disease (SMR = 768). Mortality in the female cohort was lower than that in the general population (SMR = 88). None of the disease groups or tumour sites caused statistically significant excess deaths either in the total cohort or in subcohorts selected according to departments. Special attention was paid to the chemical processing departments where chemicals used could contribute to the increased risk of death from cancer. Our analysis did not reveal any significant increase either in the total cohort of the workers employed in those departments or in the cohorts analyzed by duration of employment. Our results confirm the lower risk of lung cancer in the analysed group as compared with that in the general population. The numerous, but statistically insignificant increases in the incidence of malignant tumours at some specific sites detected in the subcohorts, distinguished according to the duration of employment or department, confirm the reported findings on the incidence of oral cavity, nose, throat, and larynx tumours among people exposed to harmful agents in the cotton industry.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Mondays without dread: the Trade Union response to byssinosis in the Lancashire cotton industry in the twentieth century.

Trade unions have often been criticized for their failure to address occupational health issues. This article explores their response to byssinosis-a chronic respiratory disease caused by exposure to cotton dust that was rife in the Lancashire cotton industry in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Using the archives of the cardroom and spinning unions, it is demonstrated that trade union efforts to combat byssinosis began before the First World War and were sustained for over 70 years. During that period, byssinosis became a recognized medical condition and a compensatable disease, due in no small measure to the trade unions campaigning tirelessly for better dust control, compensation for all affected workers, and more medical research.

Byssinosis↗
PubMed1990

[The structure of the morbidity with temporary loss of work capacity among female workers in the cotton industry].

A comparative study of the levels of temporary loss of working capacity among females working in the cotton production industry in different working and social conditions allowed to reveal higher incidence of morbidity in this category of workers as compared with the control group and to work out a complex of measures aimed at reducing this morbidity and ensuring stable recovery.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1981

Vegetable ingredients of dusts in textile and nontextile cotton industries.

The objective was to determine if garnetting and raw cotton dusts differed in botanical composition. Estimates of dust composition were based on the contents of gross trash in cotton raw materials and the potential of each gross trash component to be converted into less than 10 mum particulate by a laboratory abrasion test. All types of garnetting dusts are predicted to contain a lower percent content of leaflike material than raw cotton dust. Garnetting dusts arising from linter-polyester blends are estimated to contain only 20 to 25 percent of the concentration of leaflike ingredients predicted to be present in raw cotton dusts. The low prevalence of byssinosis reported in the garnetting industry may be explained, in part, by the relatively low percent content of leaflike particulate in this cotton dust.

Dust↗
PubMed1991

[Immunologic findings and ventilatory function in cotton industry workers].

Immunological testing was carried out in 24 cotton workers and in 30 control workers. Skin prick test was performed with allergens prepared from cotton dust and cotton seed. Skin tests were positive in 33.3% and IgE level was increased in 62.5% of the cotton workers. Only two 3.3% had positive skin tests and none had increased IgE serum level. Ventilatory capacity in cotton workers with positive skin tests and those with negative skin tests was comparable. The same was true of the workers with increased and normal IgE levels. The effect of cotton dust extract on isolated tracheal smooth muscle of a guinea pig was an indication of a direct irritative action causing airway obstruction.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Byssinosis and other respiratory problems in the cotton industry of Hong Kong.

Between February 1982 and October 1984, a total of 2,317 workers from all levels of cotton processing--carding, blowing, spinning and weaving--were studied in a citywide cross-sectional survey. The workers were administered the British MRC Questionnaire in local dialect and their pre- and postshift lung functions were assessed by portable spirometers. The prevalence of byssinosis for the whole industry was 2.3%, being much greater in the more dusty processes (blowing and carding, 5.6%; weaving 1.6%). Even more important was the prevalence of chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD) (13.8%) and a combination of nonspecific respiratory symptoms (10.0%), characterized by chest tightness and dyspnea, but not related to any specific day of the week such as those seen in typical byssinosis. The importance of these two large groups of respiratory problems in relation to byssinosis and the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases in people exposed to cotton dust is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

The measurement and health impact of endotoxin contamination in organic dusts from multiple sources: focus on the cotton industry.

Endotoxin is derived from Gram-negative bacterial membranes, and its inflammatory effects following inhalation are well characterized. The significance of this fact becomes apparent when the wide-ranging environments containing high levels of this microbial product are considered. Endotoxin is present in numerous industrial environments, especially where organic fibers are processed. Microbial contamination of these fibers mainly occurs at the agricultural stage. Materials such as flax and hemp are affected in this way, but the most important product in this context is cotton, from which chronic dust inhalation causes the disease byssinosis. Despite the fact that endotoxin constitutes a significant threat to public health, there are currently no occupational exposure limits for this toxicant. This communication describes the toxicology of endotoxin, and its role in inhalation-induced disease, focusing on measurement of airborne endotoxin in the occupational and domestic environments using the Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) enzyme assay. Following the success of the LAL assay for measuring endotoxin in dusts, our laboratory has examined its application to aqueous washes from cotton fibers. Reproducibility of the results was high, and data are presented displaying levels of endotoxin contamination in fibers from different cotton producing countries. Hence, worldwide comparison of industrial endotoxin concentrations can be readily made using this test. It would be highly desirable if the performance of the LAL assay facilitated introduction of industrial endotoxin safety limits, and in spite of minor surmountable shortcomings, the test is accurate, reliable, and well field-tested, so its continued widespread use may achieve this goal.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗