ABSTRACT

The industrial revoution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries introduced new and greater exposures to aerosols, and increasing awareness of the associated hazards. Mining was undertaken with increased intensity — particularly for coal — and exposure to soot, metal fumes, and aerosols such as cotton dust increased markedly. Alice Hamilton carried out seminal research in the early 1900s into the health of workers in America, and readily understood the close association between aerosol exposure and ill health. Her work laid the foundation for occupational hygiene in the United State.3 At the same time, researchers such as Tyndall, Aitken, and Rayleigh were laying the foundations for modern aerosol science that would provide the means to understand and control occupational aerosols.