Byssinosis in the waste cotton industry.

This paper is of some historical interest. It describes an investigation to determine whether byssinosis occurred among workers in the waste cotton industry. It was undertaken in 1950 at the instigation of the Minister of National Insurance. The materials used in the industry were (i) cotton that had been previously spun, and (2) waste material discarded during the preparations for spinning higher grades of yarn. A proportion of raw cotton was sometimes blended with the waste. Twenty-two mills, representative of the industry, were surveyed. All the men in these mills, who