A Clinical and Environmental Study of Byssinosis in the Lancashire Cotton Industry

Abstract

The prevalence of byssinosis was measured in a population of 189 male and 780 female workers employed in three coarse and two fine cotton mills. Ninety-eight per cent. of the male and 96% of the female population were seen.The workers were graded by their histories as follows: Grade 0-No symptoms of chest tightness or breathlessness on MondaysGrade I-Occasional chest tightness on Mondays, or mild symptoms such as irritation of the respiratory tract on Mondays Grade 1-Chest tightness and/or breathlessness on Mondays only Grade 2-Chest tightness and/or breathlessness on Mondays and other days The dust concentrations to which the workers were exposed were measured with a dust-sampling instrument based on the hexhlet. Altogether 505 working places were sampled. In the card-rooms of the coarse mills 63 % of the men and 48 % of the women had symptoms of byssinosis. In the card-rooms of the fine mills the corresponding prevalences were 7 % for the men, and 6% for the women. Prevalences were low in the spinning-rooms in the coarse mills. The mean dust concentrations in the different rooms ranged from 90 mg./100 m.3 in one section of the card-room in a fine mill, to 440 mg./100 m.3 in one of the card-rooms of the coarse spinning mills. The prevalence of byssinosis in the different rooms was closely related to the overall dustiness (r = 0-93). For the three main constituents of the dust, namely, cellulose, protein, and ash, the prevalence of byssinosis correlated most highly with protein, particularly with the protein in the medium-sized dust particles, i.e., approximately 7 microns to 2 mm.

Additive Effect of Smoking and Cotton Dust Exposure on Respiratory Symptoms and Pulmonary Function of Cotton Textile Workers

“…In the cardrooms of three Lancashire spinning mills, the airborne dust concentrations ranged from 1.1 to 13.7 mg/m 3 . It was found that more than 51% of workers working in the rooms suffered from certain degree of byssinotic symptoms 14) . During the subsequent years, installation of local ventilation led to a reduction of the airborne dusts and declinement of the prevalence of byssinosis among cotton spinners.…”

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

“…The Medical Research Council's standardized questionnaire on respiratory symptoms (9), as modified by Roach & Schilling (10), was administered to the survey subjects. Byssinosis was graded on the basis of the subjects' responses to the questionnaire as follows: grade 0: no byssinotic symptoms; grade 1/2: occasional chest tightness on the first workday of the week; grade 1: chest tightness on the first workday of every week; and grade 2: chest tightness on the first workday and other days of the week.…”

A Contribution to the Allergic Ethiopathogenity of Byssinosis

“…In order to examine this problem, we chose 7 cases of byssinosis diagnosed in agreement with the opinion of Roach and Schilling [17] and Schilling [18] in the grades I and II. We also took into consideration the age when symptoms were manifested, sex, and the years of exposure to cotton wool.…”

“…Here, the works of Dernehl [5] and Werner [19], who call the disease 'allergoconiosis' may be pointed out. Roach and Schilling [17] only admit an irritative mechanism due to the action of the cotton-dust particles, favoured by the existence of fungi and bacteria. Finally, there are those who consider that byssinosis is fundamentally due to a hyperergic reaction of the bronquial mucous membrane with an allergic origin.…”