Respiratory exposures from microwave popcorn packaging.
Authors
Kullman G; Boylstein R; Piacitelli C; Jones W; Pendergrass S; Hubbs A; Keiss K
Source
American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 1-6, 2002, San Diego, California. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2002 Jun; :62
Link
NIOSHTIC No.
20022454
Abstract
In May 2000, eight former workers at a plant that mixes and packages microwave popcorn were reported to have bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe lung disease characterized by fixed airflow obstruction; four of these workers were placed on a lung transplant list. At the request of the Missouri Department of Health, NIOSH staff investigated exposures and respiratory health outcomes at the plant. Subsequent clinical study indicated that current plant employees have 3.3 times the rate of obstructive spirometry abnormalities compared to national adjusted rates and never smokers had 10.8 times the national expected rate. NIOSH initiated industrial hygiene study at this plant in August of 2000. Sampling was con- ducted for a number of analytes including airborne total and respirable dusts, particle size distributions, volatile organic compounds, ketones, acetylaldehyde, acetic acid, and micro-biological contaminants in bulk materials. Respirator training and fit testing were provided for workers in the ingredients mixing where the highest exposures were found; engineering control recommendations were also provided. Animal exposure studies were begun at NIOSH using flavoring agents from this plant. Qualitative sampling for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air detected over 100 different compounds; the predominant VOCs identified included the ketones diacetyl, acetoin, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and 2- nonanone. Diacetyl was predominant and concentrations ranged from below detectable limits to 98 parts per million (ppm), with a mean of 8.1 ppm (Sm 19 ppm). The average ketone concentrations were highest in the microwave mixing room with a mean diacetyl concentration of 38 ppm (STD 28 ppm). Strong exposure-response relationships existed between quartile of estimated cumulative exposures to diacetyl and respirable dust and frequency and degree of airway obstruction. Longitudinal medical and environmental study are ongoing at this plant to ensure that exposure control steps are effective.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.