(1) An emergency exists concerning worker exposure to diacetyl, a substance used in many flavorings, including artificial butter flavorings.
(2) There is compelling evidence that diacetyl presents a grave danger and significant risk of life-threatening illness to exposed employees. Workers exposed to diacetyl have developed, among other conditions, a debilitating lung disease known as bronchiolitis obliterans.
(3) From 2000-2002 NIOSH identified cases of bronchiolitis obliterans in workers employed in microwave popcorn plants, and linked these illnesses to exposure to diacetyl used in butter flavoring. In December 2003, NIOSH issued an alert `Preventing Lung Disease in Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings,' recommending that employers implement measures to minimize worker exposure to diacetyl.
(4) In August 2004 the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States issued a report, `Respiratory Health and Safety in the Flavor Manufacturing Workplace,' warning about potential serious respiratory illness in workers exposed to flavorings and recommending comprehensive control measures for diacetyl and other `high priority' substances used in flavoring manufacturing.
(5) From 2004-2007 additional cases of bronchiolitis obliterans were identified among workers in the flavoring manufacturing industry by the California Department of Health Services and Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), which through enforcement actions and an intervention program called for the flavoring manufacturing industry in California to reduce exposure to diacetyl.
(6) In a report issued in April 2007, NIOSH reported that flavor manufacturers and flavored-food producers are widely distributed in the United States and that bronchiolitis obliterans had been identified among microwave popcorn and flavoring-manufacturing workers in a number of States.
(7) Despite NIOSH's findings of the hazards of diacetyl and recommendations that exposures be controlled, and a formal petition by labor organizations and leading scientists for issuance of an emergency temporary standard, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has not acted to promulgate an occupational safety and health standard to protect workers from harmful exposure to diacetyl.
(8) An OSHA standard is urgently needed to protect workers exposed to diacetyl from bronchiolitis obliterans and other debilitating conditions.
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.2693 as Placed on Calendar Senate Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act
