Seriously, this is weird.
The dangers of POPCORN
Since 2001, academic studies have shown links between the disease and a chemical used in artificial butter flavor called diacetyl. Flavoring manufacturers have paid out more than $100 million as a result of lawsuits by people sick with popcorn workers lung over the past five years. One death from the disease has been confirmed.
But no federal laws regulate the chemical's use. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is still deciding what standards to set for workers who handle it. In late April, the head of OSHA, Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin G. Foulke Jr., testified before Congress that the agency will begin inspecting microwave-popcorn factories this month.
While critics charge that OSHA has stalled, California is moving ahead. Here, state Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D) has introduced a bill to ban the use of diacetyl.
The dangers of POPCORN
Since 2001, academic studies have shown links between the disease and a chemical used in artificial butter flavor called diacetyl. Flavoring manufacturers have paid out more than $100 million as a result of lawsuits by people sick with popcorn workers lung over the past five years. One death from the disease has been confirmed.
But no federal laws regulate the chemical's use. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is still deciding what standards to set for workers who handle it. In late April, the head of OSHA, Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin G. Foulke Jr., testified before Congress that the agency will begin inspecting microwave-popcorn factories this month.
While critics charge that OSHA has stalled, California is moving ahead. Here, state Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D) has introduced a bill to ban the use of diacetyl.
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