Chilli grinding as an opening to the study of occupational lung disease

When in 1962 I started work at Chest Clinic Kandy, I occasionally used to buy chilli powder for domestic use at a chilli grinding mill at Katukelle in Kandy. The freshly ground powder at the mill was supposed to be more potent than and preferable to the old stuff sold in retail shops. Whenever I entered the premises I was assailed with bouts of coughing and sneezing, sometimes violently when the dust was disturbed, but surprisingly the workers carried on regardless. The question why I was affected while the work ers themselves were symptom-free puzzled me at the time. When the situation recurred on several occasions, I thought of investigating the problem, but I was faced with a difficulty. The management of the mill would not take kindly to an outsider like me questioning the workers, and thereby possibly causing labour unrest. My immediate problem would be solved if I could find some official reason for workers to be examined at Chest Clinic. At this stage, I came to know that the chilli grinding mills, as well as all other industrial undertakings within the Kandy Municipal Council, had to be licensed annually with the Council through its Medical Officer of Health (MOH). The Chief MOH, who was personally known to me, was Dr K C D Perera, who incidentally, was an acknowledged expert on ancient coins of Sri Lanka. When I told him my problem, he at once agreed to assist me. He immediately instructed one of his Public Health Inspectors to get the workers at all the chilli grinding mills in Kandy examined by me at the Chest Clinic before their annual licences could be renewed.