To some people the buttery odor from buckets of popcorn at the movies is a foretaste of the pleasure to come. For others, it's anathema. If going to the movies makes you cough, here's the reason.
A petition has been sent to OSHA requesting that it set exposure limits to diacetyl, a flavoring in popcorn, "... and immediately issue a bulletin to all employers and employees stating that exposure might result in severe illness; and conduct inspections where workers are exposed to diacetyl and issue citations when necessary." "Employers, in addition to providing respirators, would have to control levels of diacetyl in the air workers breathe and provide medical surveillance and consultation to all employees exposed to the chemical," reports the Baltimore Sun.
The petiton signers include:a "...head of OSHA from 1977 to 1981; five former top officials from OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services; more than 14 chairmen or directors of leading schools of public health or occupational medicine; and 20 other physicians or scientists."
Workers were first diagnosed with bronchiolitis obiterans in 2000, but OSHA has not moved to protect them (nor has the EPA done anything to protect the movie-going public).
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