The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will solicit public comment on a health standard for diacetyl — a chemical used to give foods like popcorn an artificial buttery flavor. Factory workers (and possibly consumers) exposed to diacetyl are at a higher risk for developing bronchiolitis obliterans, a potentially fatal lung disease. (Background here.)

OSHA is scheduled to publish its notice in the Jan. 21 issue of the Federal Register. The so-called Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a minor step in the rulemaking process. The notice only describes the issue of diacetyl exposure and asks for insight from commenters. It does not propose policy solutions.

Although it seems OSHA is finally moving on a path toward diacetyl regulation, the notice is still a frustrating read. The notice highlights eight years of inaction under the Bush administration's OSHA. Some passages from the notice:

• "[T]he scientific community did not become aware of flavoring-related obstructive airway disease until 2000 after a case cluster was identified at a microwave popcorn production plant."
• "The respiratory hazards associated with butter flavoring came under scrutiny with the diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans in eight former employees who had worked in mixing and packaging operations at a Missouri microwave popcorn plant (Parmet et al., 2002)."

True, the scientific literature has grown more robust in recent years, but diacetyl exposure is clearly a problem OSHA has known about — and should have been addressing. Instead, the agency only set into motion a rulemaking after cases of bronchiolitis obliterans were reported widely in popular media. Almost two years after the rash of news stories, we finally get this preliminary document.

Worker health and safety will need a major overhaul under incoming President Barack Obama and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health section of the American Public Health Association have developed a platform for doing just that. OMB Watch, along with dozens of other groups, have endorsed the agenda. The "Protecting Workers on the Job" agenda makes seven major recommendations:

• Put worker health and safety first by making the Protecting Workers on the Job agenda a top priority of the President and Congress.
• Ensure health and safety protection of all workers through tough enforcement of existing regulations, new worker protections, and research.
• Count all occupational injuries and illnesses and increase funding for Federal and State-based public health tracking programs.
• Increase worker participation in workplace safety and health programs and protect workers from retaliation.
• Eliminate disparities in the high rates of deaths, injuries and illnesses among all workers.
• Reform workers' compensation programs to ensure appropriate and equitable remedies for the costs of occupational injuries and illnesses for all workers.
• Reduce or eliminate widespread use of toxic chemicals to protect workers on the job and to safeguard the communities in which we all work and live.

Read more here.