NIOSH Comments to DOL Post-Hearing Brief on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Proposed Rule on Occupational Exposure to Cotton Dust by R. A. Lemen, December 14, 1983

摘要

The testimony summarized the position of NIOSH concerning the proposed rule on occupational exposure to cotton dust. Topics included cotton dust concentrations, medical surveillance data in knitting and hosiery mills. NIOSH has reviewed the protocol submitted to OSHA regarding alternative sampling devices for cotton dust. Problems concerning the definition of the accuracy standard, methods for keeping track of the units being tested, the test of significance used by the authors, the estimation of the error distribution, and the determination of the variance of differences observed when using the different methods were noted. An additional issue concerning whether or not oil mist present in weave rooms contributes to the adverse health effects associated with cotton dust was considered. The representativeness of study groups used was discussed.