110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2693 
AN ACT 
To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
to issue a standard regulating worker exposure to diacetyl. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Popcorn Workers Lung 
Disease Prevention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) An emergency exists concerning worker ex-
posure to diacetyl, a substance used in many 
flavorings, including artificial butter flavorings. 
(2) There is compelling evidence that diacetyl 
presents a grave danger and significant risk of life- 
threatening illness to exposed employees. Workers 
exposed to diacetyl have developed, among other con-
ditions, a debilitating lung disease known as 
bronchiolitis obliterans. 
(3) From 2000–2002 NIOSH identified cases 
of bronchiolitis obliterans in workers employed in 
microwave popcorn plants, and linked these illnesses 
to exposure to diacetyl used in butter flavoring. In 
December 2003, NIOSH issued an alert ‘‘Preventing 
Lung Disease in Workers Who Use or Make 
Flavorings,’’ recommending that employers imple-
ment measures to minimize worker exposure to diac-
etyl. 
(4) In August 2004 the Flavor and Extract 
Manufacturers Association of the United States 
issued a report, ‘‘Respiratory Health and Safety in
the Flavor Manufacturing Workplace,’’ warning 
about potential serious respiratory illness in workers 
exposed to flavorings and recommending comprehen-
sive control measures for diacetyl and other ‘‘high 
priority’’ substances used in flavoring manufac-
turing. 
(5) From 2004–2007 additional cases of 
bronchiolitis obliterans were identified among work-
ers in the flavoring manufacturing industry by the 
California Department of Health Services and Divi-
sion of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/ 
OSHA), which through enforcement actions and an 
intervention program called for the flavoring manu-
facturing industry in California to reduce exposure 
to diacetyl. 
(6) In a report issued in April 2007, NIOSH 
reported that flavor manufacturers and flavored-food 
producers are widely distributed in the United 
States and that bronchiolitis obliterans had been 
identified among microwave popcorn and flavoring- 
manufacturing workers in a number of States. 
(7) Despite NIOSH’s findings of the hazards of 
diacetyl and recommendations that exposures be 
controlled, and a formal petition by labor organiza-
tions and leading scientists for issuance of an emer-
gency temporary standard, the Occupational Safety 
and Health Administration (OSHA) has not acted to 
promulgate an occupational safety and health stand-
ard to protect workers from harmful exposure to di-
acetyl. 
(8) An OSHA standard is urgently needed to 
protect 
workers 
exposed 
to 
diacetyl 
from 
bronchiolitis obliterans and other debilitating condi-
tions. 
SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF STANDARD ON DIACETYL. 
(a) INTERIM STANDARD.— 
(1) RULEMAKING.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Labor shall promulgate an interim final standard 
regulating worker exposure to diacetyl. The interim 
final standard shall apply— 
(A) to all locations in the flavoring manu-
facturing industry that manufacture, use, han-
dle, or process diacetyl; and 
(B) to all microwave popcorn production 
and packaging establishments that use diacetyl- 
containing flavors in the manufacture of micro-
wave popcorn.
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The interim final stand-
ard required under subsection (a) shall provide no 
less protection than the recommendations contained 
in the NIOSH Alert ‘‘Preventing Lung Disease in 
Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings’’ (NIOSH 
Publication 2004–110) and include the following: 
(A) Requirements for engineering, work 
practice controls, and respiratory protection to 
minimize exposure to diacetyl. Such engineering 
and work practice controls include closed proc-
esses, isolation, local exhaust ventilation, proper 
pouring techniques, and safe cleaning proce-
dures. 
(B) Requirements for a written exposure 
control plan that will indicate specific measures 
the employer will take to minimize employee ex-
posure; and requirements for evaluation of the 
exposure control plan to determine the effective-
ness of control measures at least on a biannual 
basis and whenever medical surveillance indi-
cates abnormal pulmonary function in employ-
ees exposed to diacetyl, or whenever necessary 
to reflect new or modified processes.
(C) Requirements for airborne exposure 
assessments to determine levels of exposure and 
ensure adequacy of controls. 
(D) Requirements for medical surveillance 
for workers and referral for prompt medical 
evaluation. 
(E) Requirements for protective equipment 
and clothing for workers exposed to diacetyl. 
(F) Requirements to provide written safety 
and health information and training to employ-
ees, including hazard communication informa-
tion, labeling, and training. 
(3) EFFECTIVE
DATE
OF
INTERIM
STAND-
ARD.—The interim final standard shall take effect 
upon issuance. The interim final standard shall have 
the legal effect of an occupational safety and health 
standard, and shall apply until a final standard be-
comes effective under section 6 of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655). 
(b) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 
shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655), promulgate a final standard 
regulating worker exposure to diacetyl, if at such time, 
diacetyl is still being processed or utilized in facilities sub-
ject to such Act. The final standard shall contain, at a 
minimum, the worker protection provisions in the interim 
final standard, a short term exposure limit, and a permis-
sible exposure limit that does not exceed the lowest fea-
sible level, and shall apply at a minimum to all facilities 
where diacetyl is processed or used. 
SEC. 4. STUDY AND RECOMMENDED EXPOSURE LIMITS ON 
OTHER FLAVORINGS. 
(a) STUDY.—The National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health shall conduct a study on food flavorings 
that may be used as substitutes for diacetyl and shall 
transmit a report of the findings of the study to the Occu-
pational Safety and Health Administration. 
(b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as affecting the timing of the rulemaking out-
lined in section 2. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 
2007. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2693 
AN ACT 
To direct the Occupational Safety and Health Ad-
ministration to issue a standard regulating work-
er exposure to diacetyl.