Popcorn Production Harms Workers

One of America’s favorite snack foods – popcorn – is at the center of a national health controversy. The chemical diacetyl, used to make artificial butter flavoring, has been linked to a respiratory disease called “popcorn lung” in hundreds of people. Labor unions and prominent occupational health scientists are calling on federal authorities to set an emergency standard for the chemical in the workplace. Living on Earth host Bruce Gellerman has our report.