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Union Calendar No. 149 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2693 

[Report No. 110–239] 

To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a 

standard regulating worker exposure to diacetyl. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2007 

Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. HARE, Ms. 

DELAURO, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. 

KILDEE, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. LINDA T. 

SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

JULY 18, 2007 

Additional sponsors: Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. HOLT, and 

Mr. WAXMAN

JULY 18, 2007 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 13, 2007] 

A BILL 

To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

to issue a standard regulating worker exposure to diacetyl. 

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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Popcorn Workers Lung 

5 Disease Prevention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) An emergency exists concerning worker expo9 sure to diacetyl, a substance used in many flavorings, 

10 including artificial butter flavorings. 

11 (2) There is compelling evidence that diacetyl 

12 presents a grave danger and significant risk of life13 threatening illness to exposed employees. Workers ex14 posed to diacetyl have developed, among other condi15 tions, a debilitating lung disease known as 

16 bronchiolitis obliterans. 

17 (3) From 2000–2002 NIOSH identified cases of 

18 bronchiolitis obliterans in workers employed in micro19 wave popcorn plants, and linked these illnesses to ex20 posure to diacetyl used in butter flavoring. In Decem21 ber 2003, NIOSH issued an alert ‘‘Preventing Lung 

22 Disease in Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings,’’ 

23 recommending that employers implement measures to 

24 minimize worker exposure to diacetyl. 

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1 (4) In August 2004 the Flavor and Extract Man2 ufacturers Association of the United States issued a 

3 report, ‘‘Respiratory Health and Safety in the Flavor 

4 Manufacturing Workplace,’’ warning about potential 

5 serious respiratory illness in workers exposed to 

6 flavorings and recommending comprehensive control 

7 measures for diacetyl and other ‘‘high priority’’ sub8 stances used in flavoring manufacturing. 

9 (5) From 2004–2007 additional cases of 

10 bronchiolitis obliterans were identified among workers 

11 in the flavoring manufacturing industry by the Cali12 fornia Department of Health Services and Division of 

13 Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), which 

14 through enforcement actions and an intervention pro15 gram called for the flavoring manufacturing industry 

16 in California to reduce exposure to diacetyl. 

17 (6) In a report issued in April 2007, NIOSH re18 ported that flavor manufacturers and flavored-food 

19 producers are widely distributed in the United States 

20 and that bronchiolitis obliterans had been identified 

21 among microwave popcorn and flavoring-manufac22 turing workers in a number of States. 

23 (7) Despite NIOSH’s findings of the hazards of 

24 diacetyl and recommendations that exposures be con25 trolled, and a formal petition by labor organizations 

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1 and leading scientists for issuance of an emergency 

2 temporary standard, the Occupational Safety and 

3 Health Administration (OSHA) has not acted to pro4 mulgate an occupational safety and health standard 

5 to protect workers from harmful exposure to diacetyl. 

6 (8) An OSHA standard is urgently needed to 

7 protect workers exposed to diacetyl from bronchiolitis 

8 obliterans and other debilitating conditions. 

9 SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF STANDARD ON DIACETYL. 

10 (a) INTERIM STANDARD.— 

11 (1) RULEMAKING.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of law, not later than 90 days after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 

14 promulgate an interim final standard regulating 

15 worker exposure to diacetyl. The interim final stand16 ard shall apply— 

17 (A) to all locations in the flavoring manu18 facturing industry that manufacture, use, han19 dle, or process diacetyl; and 

20 (B) to all microwave popcorn production 

21 and packaging establishments that use diacetyl22 containing flavors in the manufacture of micro23 wave popcorn. 

24 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The interim final stand25 ard required under subsection (a) shall provide no 

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1 less protection than the recommendations contained 

2 in the NIOSH Alert ‘‘Preventing Lung Disease in 

3 Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings’’ (NIOSH Pub4 lication 2004–110) and include the following: 

5 (A) Requirements for engineering, work 

6 practice controls, and respiratory protection to 

7 minimize exposure to diacetyl. Such engineering 

8 and work practice controls include closed proc9 esses, isolation, local exhaust ventilation, proper 

10 pouring techniques, and safe cleaning proce11 dures. 

12 (B) Requirements for a written exposure 

13 control plan that will indicate specific measures 

14 the employer will take to minimize employee ex15 posure; and requirements for evaluation of the 

16 exposure control plan to determine the effective17 ness of control measures at least on a biannual 

18 basis and whenever medical surveillance indi19 cates abnormal pulmonary function in employees 

20 exposed to diacetyl, or whenever necessary to re21 flect new or modified processes. 

22 (C) Requirements for airborne exposure as23 sessments to determine levels of exposure and en24 sure adequacy of controls. 

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1 (D) Requirements for medical surveillance 

2 for workers and referral for prompt medical eval3 uation. 

4 (E) Requirements for protective equipment 

5 and clothing for workers exposed to diacetyl. 

6 (F) Requirements to provide written safety 

7 and health information and training to employ8 ees, including hazard communication informa9 tion, labeling, and training. 

10 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF INTERIM STANDARD.— 

11 The interim final standard shall take effect upon 

12 issuance. The interim final standard shall have the 

13 legal effect of an occupational safety and health 

14 standard, and shall apply until a final standard be15 comes effective under section 6 of the Occupational 

16 Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655). 

17 (b) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 2 years after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 

19 shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupational Safety and 

20 Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655), promulgate a final standard 

21 regulating worker exposure to diacetyl. The final standard 

22 shall contain, at a minimum, the worker protection provi23 sions in the interim final standard, a short term exposure 

24 limit, and a permissible exposure limit that does not exceed 

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1 the lowest feasible level, and shall apply at a minimum to 

2 all facilities where diacetyl is processed or used. 

3 SEC. 4. STUDY AND RECOMMENDED EXPOSURE LIMITS ON 

4 OTHER FLAVORINGS. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The National Institute of Occupational 

6 Safety and Health shall conduct a study on food flavorings 

7 used in the production of microwave popcorn. The study 

8 shall prioritize the chemicals that are most closely chemi9 cally associated with diacetyl to determine possible exposure 

10 hazards. NIOSH shall transmit a report of the findings of 

11 the study to the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis12 tration. 

13 (b) RECOMMENDED EXPOSURE LIMITS.—Upon com14 pletion of the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a), 

15 NIOSH shall establish recommended exposure limits for 

16 flavorings determined by such study to pose exposure haz17 ards to workers involved in the production of microwave 

18 popcorn. 

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Union Calendar No. 149 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2693 

[Report No. 110

–239] 

A BILL 

To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Ader exposure to diacetyl. ministration to issue a standard regulating workJULY 18, 2007 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

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