Health Effects
- Mill fever
- Upper respiratory irritation, cough, chills, fever, occasional nausea and vomiting;
- Occurs with first contact with mill or upon return after prolonged absence;
- Symptoms disappear after a few days as tolerance develops.
- Chronic Bronchitis
- Byssinosis
- Occurs after years of exposure/mill fever;
- Chest tightness, breathlessness, coughing and/ or wheezing;
- Symptoms begin at the start of the work week and subside later on or when worker is away from the workplace;
- Ultimately, leads to chronic bronchitis, emphysema and respiratory failure.
Main Industries and Occupations at Risk
- Raw cotton processing in textile industry;
- Carding (separating fibres and forming them into bundles of roughly parallel fibres); most dusty operation;
- Opening, cleaning and picking of bale cotton using beaters and/or saw cleaners (fibre preparation);
- Spinning (reducing size of roving and imparting twist);
- Winding (winding yarn into cones or tubes);
- Drawing and roving (straightening fibres, reducing strand or sliver size and imparting a slight twist);
- Twisting (twisting strands of yarn together to form ply yarns);
- Weaving;
- Ginning (removing fibre from seed).
- Cotton harvesting by hand or machine (spindle picker or stripper);
- Raw cotton processing in other industries, e.g., preparation of substrate for growing of mushrooms.
Medical Examinations
Indications:
- Any occupational exposure to raw cotton dust–defined as dust generated from the processing of cotton fibres, cotton or cotton fibre by-products (excluding dust from handling or processing of woven materials).
Types of Tests and Frequency of Examinations:
- Pre-placement medical examinations: within three months of exposure
- Clinical history and examination with emphasis on:
- i. past, present, and anticipated future exposure to cotton dust;
- ii. respiratory system dysfunction.
- Lung function tests: Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and Forced vital capacity (FVC);
- i. Pre-shift test on the first day of the working week;
- ii. Post-shift test to be done after at least 6 hours of exposure on the same day.
- Unfit for exposure to cotton:
- i. history of asthma and other symptomatic respiratory diseases.
- Periodic medical examinations: every 12 months
- Clinical history and examination with emphasis on respiratory system;
- Lung function tests: Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and Forced vital capacity (FVC);
- i. Pre-shift test on the fi rst day of the working week;
- ii. Post-shift test to be done after at least 6 hours of exposure on the same day
