Byssinosis: matter from lint to lungs.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kilburn GG ; Kilburn KH ; Merchant, James A.
• Description:
  The incidence of byssinosis was studied among 2,967 cotton and other textile workers. Subjects completed questionnaires about respiratory symptoms, and were tested for forced expiratory volume and forced vital capacity before and after 6 hours at work on Monday. Respirable dust was sampled in major work areas using a vertical elutriator. Data on 1,046 female workers was examined to determine the effects of cotton exposure and smoking on rates of byssinosis and chronic bronchitis. Various treatments of cotton were assessed for their ability to lower respirable dust concentrations and the biological response of 12 sensitized subjects. Workers in cotton preparation areas reported the most symptoms and showed greatest decreases in expiratory flow; 40 percent of preparation workers in one cotton mill were diagnosed as byssinotic. Cotton yarn production workers had about 50 percent of the incidence of preparation workers, while only 6 to 7 percent of cotton weavers were affected. Dust concentrations were linearly related to respiratory symptoms, decreases in forced expiratory volume, and prevalence of chronic bronchitis. Even at respirable dust concentrations of 0.1 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) of air, 6.5 percent of cotton workers had symptoms. Compared to nonsmoking workers in cotton/synthetic blends, cotton workers who smoked had over 4 times the risk of developing byssinosis and over 5 times the risk of developing chronic bronchitis. Washing or steaming cotton was effective in reducing biological effects and lowering dust concentrations, while dry heat treatment increased biological effects. The authors recommend the enforcement of a threshold limit value of 0.1 to 0.2mg/m3 respirable dust in cotton textile mills. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Diagnosis Dust Lung Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Biological-effects Clinical-diagnosis Clinical-symptoms Disease-incidence Dust-exposure Dust-inhalation Industrial-medicine Lung-irritants NIOSH-Grant NIOSH-Publication Pulmonary-system-disorders Worker-health

  More +
• ISSN:
  0002-936X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  73
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00127490
• Citation:
  Am J Nurs 1973 Nov; 73(11):1952-1958
• Contact Point Address:
  Medicine University of Missouri N424 Medical Center Columbia, MO 65201
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1974
• NORA Priority Area:
  Pulmonary System Disorders
• Performing Organization:
  University of Missouri Columbia, Columbia, Missouri
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19730601
• Source Full Name:
  The American Journal of Nursing
• End Date:
  19800331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3ebd71c7b74168b2a9fae6d453a4f4b4f00c1a14537d0b65e4ec73b0047b17b27c4420fe5e5b047fbf780c34a7a89dc769ffa6404f8b343daac42c2918dd363c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184597/cdc_184597_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 349.97 KB ]