Sacramento Bee, "More lung damage found: Another 22 workers have breathing problems linked to butter flavoring"

          Ongoing medical screening of California flavoring industry workers has turned up another 22 young employees with abnormally low lung capacity -- evidence of chemical poisoning on the job -- a top state health official said. The workers will undergo further testing to determine whether they have a "fixed obstructive airway" disease, an untreatable impairment strongly linked to a butter-mimicking chemical called diacetyl, said Kevin Reilly, the health department's deputy director of preventative services.
          Reilly notified state lawmakers of the suspect cases in a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would ban diacetyl in the workplace by 2010. The proposal by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, passed out of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on a 5-3 vote. The measure, AB 514, now goes to the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. Without proper handling and ventilation, workers who make the flavor mixes in batches of 50 to 5,000 pounds can inhale toxic fumes as they pour chemical liquids into huge blenders.
          Earlier this year, state health and job safety officials confirmed that at least eight workers have lost nearly all use of their lungs. "These employees are very young. They are nonsmoking, and they're Latino," Reilly said. The state division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited two employers, Mission Flavors & Fragrances Inc. in Orange County and Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Co. near Los Angeles, for failing to implement proper controls and respiratory equipment and other violations. More than 400 of the estimated 750 flavoring plant workers in the state have had direct exposure to diacetyl, Reilly said.