Impact of cotton dust, endotoxin exposure, and other occupational health risk due to indoor pollutants on textile industry workers in low and middle- income countries

Shankar Subramaniam; Naveenkumar Raju; Abbas Ganesan; Nithyaprakash Rajavel; Maheswari Chenniappan; Albert Alexander Stonier; Chander Prakash; Alokesh Pramanik; Animesh Kumar Basak

doi:10.18502/japh.v9i1.15080

Shankar Subramaniam Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India
Naveenkumar Raju Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India
Abbas Ganesan Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India
Nithyaprakash Rajavel Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India
Maheswari Chenniappan Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India
Albert Alexander Stonier School of Electrical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu, India
Chander Prakash Department of Mechanical Engineering, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Alokesh Pramanik School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia
Animesh Kumar Basak Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adelaide Microscopy, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v9i1.15080

Keywords: Cotton dust; Endotoxin; Health risks; Indoor air quality; Textile industry

Abstract

The textile industry consists of several units that engage different processes namely ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, and several other processes which required for converting raw cotton fiber into finished fabrics. Exposure to cotton dust, endotoxin, chemicals, noise, and musculoskeletal disorders causes several health-related hazards to textile workers. This review article aims to study the health issues due to various risk factors associated with the working environment in detail and its impacts on workers' health. This review article also reports dust and endotoxin concentrations in indoor environments of textile industries, as well as discusses the association between workplace exposure to cotton dust, endotoxin, and the prevalence of respiratory disorders. In this review, the focus is also given to the prevalence of indoor pollutants like Particulate Matter (PM), Carbon dioxide (CO₂), Carbon monoxide (CO), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Formaldehyde (HCHO) in the workplace and its effects on human health. The study expands to other aspects that influence human comfort and health during working hours like occupational noise, musculoskeletal disorders, and eyesight problems. In addition, the advanced technologies for monitoring indoor air quality for control and reduction of pollutants indoor environment the current regulatory limits of cotton dust and indoor pollutants, and suggestions to enhance the occupational safety and health conditions in textile sectors are also pointed out. In conclusion, the current study stresses the need to regulate and apply international standards in the textile sector to prevent short- and long-term occupational illness.