the report examines the literature on byssinosis in an effort to delineate the kinds and methods of research that may be most productive in determining the agent or agents that cause byssinosis it also reviews briefly the methods for testing pulmonary function to diagnose byssinosis. the term 'byssinosis' is limited to one or more acute respiratory symptoms associated with exposure to cotton, flax, and hemp dust in the workplace. the risk of byssinosis was found to differ from one job to another in the textile manufacturing process in most studies, cigarette-smoking has been an important confounding variable in evaluation of dose-response relationship. however, 'a link between the acute response and a chronic response, although biologically plausible and often suggested, has not been satisfactorily demonstrated to date and must be confirmed by longitudinal studies.' the views of the one dissenting committee member are included in the report. this report included recommendations in three areas: (1) clinical epidemiological studies that should be undertaken to clarify the history of pulmonary impairment resulting from exposure to cotton dust, (2) development of a reliable bioassay model, and (3) characterizations of cotton dust and studies to determine methods for reducing the exposure to bioactive dust