Exposure to Dust in the Cottonseed Oil Extraction Industry

Two cottonseed oil extraction plants were surveyed and half their working population examined. Thirty percent of the workers exposed to “cotton dust,” composed mainly of plant debris, complained of either breathlessness or chest tightness or both, while those exposed to “cottonseed dust,” composed mainly of seed fragments and other parts of the seed, had no complaints. Data presented in this study support the suggestion that “cottonseed dust” is physiologically inert. Further studies are considered necessary.