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House Acts After Bush Refuses: Dangerous Chemical Jeopardizes Workers |
Ignoring the mounting evidence that an artificial flavoring used in microwave popcorn and other processed foods causes a deadly lung disease among workers who produce the products, the Bush administration last week turned down a petition for an emergency temporary standard to protect workers.
The next day, on Sept. 26, the U.S. House stepped in and voted, 260–154, for a bill that requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency standard limiting workers’ exposure to the chemical, diacetyl. The butter-flavored additive can cause bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe illness known as “popcorn lung.”
This summer, the first case of popcorn lung in a consumer was identified. Click here to read more.
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, says of the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act (H.R. 2693):
Seven years after the first cases of popcorn lung were identified, it is stunning that OSHA has failed to protect American workers from this horrible disease. The cost of the Bush administration’s failure to act can be measured in the number of workers who have avoidably grown ill or died. This legislation is critical to stop the delays in protecting workers from this serious workplace hazard.
In July 2006, the Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the Teamsters (IBT) petitioned OSHA for the emergency rule on diacetyl. In August, House Democrats urged the Bush administration to act.
Over the past seven years, hundreds of workers have developed the rare and sometimes fatal disease. Popcorn lung has been tied to three deaths and serious illness in at least 200 people. So far, doctors have not found a way to reverse the symptoms. A lung transplant is the only option after the symptoms set in.
The disease quickly leads to breathing difficulties and is often misidentified by physicians unfamiliar with it, according to several medical journals.
The ailing workers were employed in factories where diacetyl was manufactured and processed or applied to food. Says Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), chief sponsor of H.R. 2693:
It’s a travesty that OSHA has done nothing to regulate this chemical, while workers have fallen seriously ill and some have actually died. That’s why it’s time for Congress to act to keep workers healthy and safe. Passing this important legislation is a step in the right direction.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has urged the Senate to quickly take up the House bill.
Too many workers exposed to diacetyl have become ill or died. The Senate should pass the bill as soon as possible.
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