| Bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as Popcorn Lung disease, is back in the news amidst a rising number of lawsuits filed by plant workers exposed to fumes from diacetyl, the chemical used to give microwave popcorn its butter-like flavor.
Most of the current round of lawsuits are coming from Ohio -
At least 43 workers have filed lawsuits that claim their lungs were damaged by inhaling fumes from the chemical. Some work at a local plant of Givaudan (ZHIV'-uh-dahn) Flavors Corp. of Cincinnati, which supplies the flavoring to food manufacturers. Many others are from a plant in Marion, Ohio, owned by ConAgra Foods, which is based in Omaha, Neb.
Bronchiolitis obliterans is an irreversible condition with no known cure, and extreme cases require lung transplantation.
More below the fold... |
The interesting thing is that there's a long proven history that long-term exposure via inhalation is dangerous to workers in the plants...
After the workers filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers, the United States Environmental Protection Agency began an investigation into the chemical properties of microwave popcorn butter flavoring. In March 2004, former microwave popcorn plant employee Eric Peoples, of Joplin, Missouri, was awarded $20 million for permanent lung-injuries sustained while on the job.[5] On July 19, 2005, jurors awarded $2.7 million to another popcorn plant worker in Missouri for his claim of diacetyl-induced respiratory problems.[6]
On July 26, 2006, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers petitioned the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to promulgate an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from the deleterious health effects of inhaling diacetyl vapors.[7] The petition was followed by a letter of support signed by more than thirty prominent scientists.[8] The matter is under consideration. On 21 January 2009, OSHA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for regulating exposure to diacetyl.[9] The notice requests respondents to provide input regarding adverse health effects, methods to evaluate and monitor exposure, the training of workers. That noticed also solicited input regarding exposure and health effects of acetoin, acetaldehyde, acetic acid and furfural.[10]
There are currently two bills in the California Legislature to ban the use of diacetyl.[11][12][13]
...and many companies have already begun using different ingredients in their products. However, the route being taken by the company involved in the current round of cases seems to be studying the issue to death, never mind the studies already out there that have caused other companies to stop using diacetyl -
Givaudan Flavors, which is based out of Cincinnati, said it is fully investigating the effects of the chemical diacetyl, a key ingredient in its microwave popcorn butter flavoring, in response to the growing number of lawsuits filed by its workers, The Cincinnati Enquirer said Friday.
The company said in a court filing its diacetyl investigation has included a specialized task force, a trade group and University of Cincinnati experts. The company added it has created written procedures for dealing with the chemical.
It's also being claimed in one lawsuit that the company knew about the hazardous effects of the chemical on workers as far back as 1985 -
Donald Powell of Burlington worked at Givaudan for 18 years beginning in 1985. Powell, who was a chemical operator, suffers from severe lung damage and has trouble breathing, according to the lawsuit he filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in November.
His lawsuit, and one filed by Paul Dunbar of Springfield Township and Emmett Cooper of Norwood claim that by 1985 Givaudan and its predecessor companies, Tastemaker and Fries and Fries, knew that diacetyl was harmful to workers.
The company has also been sued before, and workers from the plant have been diagnosed with the rare disease as far back as 1992...
But several lawsuits claim Givaudan became aware of the hazards of diacetyl as early as 1986, when it was named in an Indiana lawsuit by workers who said they had lung disease due to diacetyl exposure.
Between 1992 and 1996, at least eight Givaudan employees were diagnosed with the rare lung disease, the lawsuits claim.
...and they even apparently requested a seminar on respiratory safety 12 years ago -
The lawsuits also claim a 1997 seminar on respiratory safety sponsored by a flavor industry trade group came about at Givaudan's request.
Is Cincinatti going to become the new Libby?
Popcorn lung is not limited solely to plant workers, either -
Wayne Watson loved microwave popcorn so much he would eat at least two bags each night, breathing in the steam from the just-opened package, until doctors told him it may have made him sick.
Watson, whose case of "popcorn lung" is the sole reported case of the disease in a non-factory worker, said he is convinced his heavy consumption of popcorn caused his health problems.
[...]
Popcorn flavoring contains the chemical diacetyl, which has been linked to lung damage in factory workers testing hundreds of bags of microwave popcorn per day and inhaling its fumes. The chemical is a naturally occurring compound that gives butter its flavor and is also found in cheese and even wine, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
It's been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a flavor ingredient, but hundreds of workers have sued flavoring makers in recent years for lung damage.
There are no warnings from federal regulators, nor is there medical advice on how consumers should treat news of the rare, life-threatening disease . |
