Prevalence of respiratory disease in a cotton compress and warehouse. A preliminary survey.

A preliminary survey was undertaken to explore the relationship of respiratory symptoms and disease to work in a cotton compress and warehouse operation. A respiratory history was obtained from all 70 employees in a single cotton compress and warehouse complex. Sixteen of 70 employees (23%) had respiratory symptoms but none were typical of byssinosis. Fifteen of the 16 employees with positive respiratory symptoms were further studied by objective pulmonary function tests. Five of these 15 workers had abnormal results: one with an FEV1 decrement greater that 5% only, one with a ratio of FEV1, to FVC less than 70% only, and two with both abnormalities. One additional employee had an FEV1 of 73% predicted as his only abnormality.