Card-Room Dust Levels and Response of Humans to Raw Cotton Cleaned by the Shirley Analyzer

Abstract

Two bales of similar cotton were prepared by 1) normal ginning and 2) normal ginning plus one pass through the Shirley Analyzer for testing for particle-size distribution and lung-function response by cotton-mill workers during carding. Airborne dust level measurements by a vertical elutriator and OSHA personal sampler plus lung-function data are reported. The experiment indicated that, although extra lint cleaning may reduce the overall airborne dust level, it may not be expected to significantly change the particle-size distribution in the respirable size range nor change the lung-function reaction of humans.