[Upper respiratory tract function in workers in modern dye (cotton) manufacture].

Clinical and functional examination of the upper respiratory tracts (URT) was performed in 240 employees exposed to novel active vinylsulfone dyes at cotton dye works. Those in contact with active dyes developed affections of URT mucosa leading to chronic subatrophic and catarrhal rhinopharyngitis occurring in dye-exposed subjects 3 times more frequently than in the nonexposed. The severity of URT lesions depended on the occupation and length of service. Special tests provided evidence for early harmful action of the dye aerosols on URT in the majority of the examinees.