ABSTRACT

Cotton dust has been regulated as a toxic air contaminant by OSHA since 1971. There are four different permissible exposure limits and OSHA has proposed a cotton dust standard for cotton gins. A recent study indicates that to be protective for all workers including smokers and to give a wider margin of protection to all yarn manufacturing workers, the standard may need to be lowered. The cotton dust problem is not solved but is being managed, so it is important that research continue. During the past seventeen years much research has been conducted that indicates that endotoxins play a major role in respiratory responses to cotton dust and much more is known about the microbiology of cotton. The causative agents can be removed by washing cotton. An animal model has been developed which gives useful directional information on the physiological activity of cotton dust and preparations of bacterial products.