INTRODUCTION
An emerging body of research literature has shown a strong association between respiratory health problems and certain occupations [1]. Acute as well as chronic occupational exposures to chemicals have found to be lethal for the workers in industrial plants [2]. Although these chemicals are known to invariably affect all body systems, lungs are most vulnerable to air–borne hazards which are caused due to exposure to wood dust which is produced in sawmills, furniture industries, cabinet making, and carpentry [3]. Studies which had been done earlier have reported that exposure to wood-dust had caused adverse symptoms like cough, malaise, chest pain, dyspnoea and headache in wood workers [4]. A few studies have commented on the role of wood-dust in inducing occupational asthma, chronic bronchitis, pnuemonitis, nasopharyngeal and lung malignancies, but data is relatively inconclusive [5].