Microwave Popcorn Disease

  • Federal agencies have been aware of a link between artificial butter flavoring in microwave popcorn and a debilitating respiratory illness. The illness has shown up in factory workers - and recently one consumer of microwave popcorn made the news when he also got sick. (Photo by Lester Graham)

Microwave popcorn lovers are thinking twice about their favorite snack. Lester
Graham reports, a lung disease associated with popcorn packers might be a risk for
some popcorn snackers:

Transcript

Microwave popcorn lovers are thinking twice about their favorite snack. Lester
Graham reports, a lung disease associated with popcorn packers might be a risk for
some popcorn snackers:

For years federal agencies have been aware that there’s a link between an artificial
butter flavoring and lung disease. Some workers at factories that pack popcorn in
microwavable bags are exposed to the chemical diacetyl. It causes a debilitating
respiratory illness thatís now called “popcorn workers lung.”


No one really thought consumers were at any risk, since exposure to diacetyl is
limited. But a recent New York Times article revealed a microwave popcorn lover
who ate two bags a day and stuck his nose into the bag to inhale the buttery odor of
diacetyl also contracted “popcorn workers lung.”


Congress is pressuring various federal agencies to set a health standard for
exposure to diacetyl to protect workers in popcorn packaging factories and other
industries that use the chemical.


For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

Related Links

Epa to Change Airborne Lead Standard?

At the urging of some scientists, the US government is looking at tightening lead exposure limits. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

At the urging of some scientists, the US government is looking at tightening lead
exposure limits. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


More medical researchers are reporting evidence that lead is harmful
to people at much lower levels than the current health standard. In fact,
some say, there’s no level at which lead is harmless. Cliff Davidson is a professor of
engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He’s helping advise the EPA on whether
to recommend changes in the airborne lead standard. Davidson says some
of the lead is in topsoil and came from leaded gasoline which was banned long ago:


“…And every time there’s a strong wind, that soil becomes
airborne and a certain amount of that which contains lead is inhaled
by people.”


Davidson says children playing in playgrounds near highways may also take the lead in
through their mouth. The new EPA recommendations may not come until at least next
year.


For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach

Related Links

Study: Diet Worsens Air Pollution Effects

A lot of studies have linked air pollution with heart and lung problems. A new study suggests your diet can worsen air pollution’s effects on you. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland has more:

Transcript

A lot of studies have linked air pollution with heart and lung
problems. A new study suggests your diet can worsen air pollution’s
effects on you. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland
has more:


Every time you inhale, you’re breathing in tiny particles from dust, soot
and smoke. They can increase both the plaque buildup in your arteries,
and the risk of a heart attack or stroke.


Now, a study led by Dr. Lung Chi Chen at New York University’s
School of Medicine says a high fat diet combined with bad air led to a
faster buildup of plaque in the arteries of mice. He says that’s because
air pollution affects lipids – fats – in the blood. It changes their
characteristics, or oxidizes them, which leads to more plaque on artery
walls.


“If the mice are fed with high-fat, then the level of the oxidized
lipid will be higher, because they have more lipid in their blood.”


Dr. Chen says arteries of mice on a high-fat diet and breathing dirty air
were 42-percent blocked. Mice breathing clean air had arteries that were
26-percent blocked.


He hopes the study not only encourages people to eat better, but also
persuades the government to toughen air quality standards.


For the GLRC, I’m Michael Leland.

Related Links

New Threats to Indoor Air Quality

Consumers are becoming more aware of indoor air quality problems that can be
caused by emissions from materials like particle board, paint and carpeting.
But a new report identifies more threats. The study found that household
appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and shower heads can release
chemicals from the water into the air…and add to the air pollution inside
your home. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports: