Mark Thorson wrote:

> Is butter flavoring ruining popcorn workers' lungs?
>
> JASPER, Mo. — When the days turn humid in this farming
> town, the air becomes thick with the smell of butter from
> the Gilster-Mary Lee plant, a microwave-popcorn factory
> and one of the area's largest employers. At night, when
> the buildings' lights are ablaze, some residents say
> they've seen a yellowish cloud emanate from the building
> and fill the dark sky. For years, no one here complained
> much about the odor or the fumes, figuring those were
> harmless prices to pay for prosperity. But a growing
> number of workers say the cause of that aroma is
> destroying their lungs. Some former workers are afflicted
> with a rare lung disease believed to be caused by
> inhaling a substance never suspected as an on-the-job
> hazard: the butter flavoring in microwave popcorn.

Does this surprise ANYONE stuck working in an office building with
a microwave and that irritating fake butter popcorn people make in
it?

nancy