Four of the former workers have been accepted on lung transplant lists, and doctors say that some are functioning on less than a third of a working lung (Armour pp).
The eight workers with severe lung disease had worked in the microwave-popcorn packaging or mixing areas, which are connected by doors, where salt, soybean oil and flavorings are blended into a heated tank (Armour pp). According to NIOSH employees who worked in the microwave popcorn production inhaled higher concentrations of butter flavoring, and seem to have more breathing problems than employees who worked in offices or packaging (Armour pp).
During 1992 through 2000, NIOSH investigated another microwave popcorn factory in Missouri and found similar findings (Fixed pp). This report indicated that an estimated 133% of the 425 former workers had been mixers, 276 or 65% had worked in microwave packaging, and 32% or 136 had worked in other areas of the factory (Fixed pp). On the basis of this estimated distribution, the crude incidence of illness was highest in mixers and microwave-packaging workers, with no cases reported in the estimated 136 workers in other areas of the factory (Fixed pp).
According to NIOSH research, animal studies have documented that chemicals in the butter flavoring cause...
One researcher used the words "astonishingly grotesque" to describe the toxic effect of diacetyl, a key ingredient in the flavoring, and another likened the effect to inhaling acid, while another compared it to a catalogue of notorious respiratory toxins such as asbestos and coal dust (Shipley pp).
Gilster-Mary Lee, which bought the popcorn factory in 1999, says it has "provided, and will continue to provide, a safe, healthy work environment for its employees" (Armour pp).
Works Cited
Armour, Stephanie. "Is butter flavoring ruining popcorn workers' lungs?"
USA Today. June 19, 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2005 at http://www.usatoday.com/money/general/2002/06/20/popcorn-factory.htm
Fixed Obstructive Lung Disease in Workers at a Microwave Popcorn Factory:
Missouri, 2000 -- 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2005 at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5116a2.htm
Gilster-Mary Lee Corporation. Retrieved September 20, 2005 at http://www.gilstermarylee.com/
Shipley, Sara. "Microwave Popcorn." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 03, 2004.
Retrieved September 20, 2005 at http://www.mindfully.org/Food/2004/Snack-Food-Workers3apr04.htm
