NIOSH Alert: Preventing Lung Disease in Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings

Details

• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requests assistance in preventing lung disease and other health effects in workers who use or make flavorings. The occurrence of severe lung disease in workers who make flavorings or use them to produce microwave popcorn has revealed an unrecognized occupational health risk. Flavorings are often complex mixtures of many chemicals [Conning 2000]. The safety of these chemicals is usually established for humans consuming small amounts in food [Pollitt 2000], not for food industry workers inhaling them. Production workers employed by flavoring manufacturers (or those who use flavorings in the production process) often handle a large number of chemicals, many of which can be highly irritating to breathe in high concentrations. This Alert describes health effects that may occur because of workplace exposure to some flavorings or their ingredients, gives examples of workplace settings in which illness has occurred, and recommends steps that companies and workers should take to prevent hazardous exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Chemical Industry Dust Environmental Monitoring Flavoring Agents Food-Processing Industry Food Additives Food Handling Food Industry Inhalation Exposure Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Lung Diseases, Obstructive Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Quality Control Radiation Radiography Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Smokers Ventilation Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Pulmonary-system-disorders; Respiratory-system-disorders; Lung-disease; Lung-disorders; Food-additives; Food-processing-industry; Food-processing-workers; Foodstuff; Airway-obstruction; Pulmonary-function-tests; Spirometry; Ventilation; Quality-control; Organic-compounds; Microwave-radiation; Etiology; Workers; Inhalation-studies; Respiratory-irritants; Work-environment; Gas-chromatography; Job-analysis; Exposure-levels; Industrial-hygiene; Organic-compounds; Chest-X-rays; Airway-resistance; Age-groups; Smoking; Air-sampling; Air-quality-monitoring; Chronic-exposure; Pulmonary-function; Pulmonary-disorders; Respirable-dust; Food-processing
• Source:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-110, 2003 Dec; :1-15
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• Subseries:
  Alert
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  20 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024198
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2004-102550
• Contact Point Address:
  Director, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Suite 2900, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5708ad4b35e1c56089e557285f6946082de9b5a8805254ff3ab6f9d4bdcf1f7d0dfe179730ad10b4ee55ab99559221ee3e0b237a719c4b89772176cd94b98fd1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11501/cdc_11501_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 442.40 KB ]