New legislation would protect popcorn workers

Workers exposed to the butter-flavoring chemical, diacetyl, may get a reprieve. Exposure to diacetyl has been linked to a severe, potentially lethal form of lung disease, bronchiolitis obliterans. Despite calls for action by unions, health-care providers and legislators to control exposures, the federal regulatory agencies have been slow to move. Faced with this government inaction, on Sept. 25 the U. S. House of Representatives passed The Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act, a measure aimed at coercing the government to regulate diacetyl to protect workers.