Safety and health alert for flavorings and flavoring ingredients: what to do today to protect worker health and prevent health hazards

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  What is the hazard? 1. Flavoring chemicals and flavoring ingredients inhaled as dusts and vapors may be harmful. 2. Flavorings are a mixture of natural and manmade chemicals. 3. Diacetyl, a yellowish liquid which is a butter flavoring ingredient, has been linked to a serious lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans. 4. People who make or work near flavorings in large quantities during the manufacturing and packaging of food are at risk. People who eat food flavorings are not at risk for health problems from diacetyl. How do I know there is a hazard? 1. Check container labels and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for diacetyl in your products. Diacetyl has the Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) number 431-03-8 and should be listed in Section 2 of the MSDS. 2. While diacetyl is one specific flavoring that has been identified as hazardous, other flavorings may also cause health problems. Why should I care? 1. Diacetyl can cause permanent lung damage and may be fatal. 2. Some workers exposed to diacetyl are currently seeking a lung transplant. 3. Doctors may not be aware of the work-related hazard of flavorings and may mistakenly attribute the health symptoms listed below to asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia or smoking. This can delay proper treatment for the worker. What are the symptoms? 1. Persistent cough. 2. Shortness of breath. 3. Wheezing when you do not have a cold. What do I need to do? Workplace Controls: a. Consider substitution of less-hazardous flavoring ingredient. b. Use closed processes to transfer or add flavorings. c. Isolate the mixing room from the packaging areas. d. Use local exhaust ventilation where mixing ingredients. Work Practices: a. Cover and seal containers containing flavorings. b. Maintain good housekeeping where flavorings are handled. c. stablish work practices to limit release of dust and vapors. Training: a. Tell workers about the hazard of flavoring agents. b. Tell workers about the symptoms and advise them to report symptoms to their supervisors and doctors. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): a. Use gloves and tight fitting goggles for those with potential skin and eye exposure to flavorings. b. For high exposure tasks, use NIOSH-approved air purifying respirators with organic vapor cartridges and particulate filters or supplied-air respirators. Where can I get help? 1. See NIOSH's alert Preventing Lung Disease in Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings at https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flavorings. 2. For questions about the hazards of flavorings contact the SHARP Program at the WA State Department of Labor and Industries: 1-888-667-4277. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Chemistry Education Lung Lung Diseases Men Morbidity Mortality Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development Women Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Bronchial-asthma Chemical-composition Chemical-properties Exposure-levels Hazards Humans Injuries Injury-prevention Lung-disease Lung-disorders Morbidity-rates Mortality-rates Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiration Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Training Work-environment Workers

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• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044250
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 64-8-2006, 2006 Aug; :1
• Contact Point Address:
  SHARP Program, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, PO Box 44330, Olympia, WA 98504-4330
• CAS Registry Number:
  Butanedione (CAS RN 431-03-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Safety and health alert for flavorings and flavoring ingredients: what to do today to protect worker health and prevent health hazards
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c47cb8a650e398257c01d2b708fa9f89b98d0aa8df5ea5aa2ab04df2b027e37035870a736bb76a5ff42d8e9cc7479e4a829ff8ba5023be982b208612386022c2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199995/cdc_199995_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 55.67 KB ]