Jury Awards Butter-Flavor Worker $20M

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

I am posting the following, due to the significant similarities faced 

in the nuclear industry today. The root causes (jury believed in) 

are:



1. Workers not informed

2. Management knew risks

3. Management took no steps to minimize risk to worker health, to 

save $$ (inadequate ventilation and respiratory protection)

--------------------



Jury Awards Butter-Flavor Worker $20M    



JOPLIN, Mo. - (AP) Eric Peoples cradled his wife and wept after a 

jury agreed that vapors from butter flavoring at the microwave 

popcorn factory where he once worked had permanently ruined his 

lungs. 



Peoples said his tears didn't only come out of satisfaction with the 

$20 million verdict. He also was thinking of the 29 other former 

workers at the Gilster-Mary Lee plant in Jasper who have cases 

pending against the same butter-flavoring manufacturers. 



"The burden of proof is now on their shoulders," Peoples said. 



Jurors deliberated for a little more than three hours before 

returning the verdict Monday against International Flavors and 

Fragrances Inc. and its subsidiary Bush Boake Allen Inc. The 

flavoring manufacturers were ordered to pay $18 million to Peoples 

and $2 million to his wife, Cassandra. 



Eric Peoples, 32, and the other former factory workers are suffering 

from damaged airways and breathing problems. They contend that the 

two manufacturers knew their butter flavoring was hazardous but 

failed to warn them of the dangers or provide adequate safety 

instructions. 



The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health also has 

linked exposure to vapors from butter flavoring to lung disease in 

popcorn factory workers in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. 



Health officials insist people who microwave popcorn and eat it are 

not in danger, although the Environmental Protection Agency (news - 

web sites) is studying the chemicals released into the air when a bag 

of microwave popcorn is popped. 



Peoples, of Carthage, was selected to have his case heard first 

because he is among the sickest of the Gilster-Mary Lee workers. 

Trial testimony showed that if his health remains stable, he could 

wait at least 10 years for a needed double-lung transplant. 



Life expectancy is about 10 years for lung transplant recipients. 



"Eric feels like he's in prison," his attorney, Ken McClain, told 

jurors in closing arguments. "He's going to eventually go through the 

physical pain of a lung transplant, knowing that he's going back to 

prison again because he'll eventually get lung disease again." 



Appearing Tuesday on the "The Early Show" on CBS, Peoples said he had 

been working at the plant about a year when he began to experience 

what he first throught were cold or flu symptoms. 



"We tried to treat it with over-the-counter medications and nothing 

seemed to work," he said. He said he finally went to a hospital 

emergency room in late 1998 "and it just went from there." 



McClain said the next trial is set for April 20 in Joplin. He also 

has cases pending in Illinois and Iowa. 



"I want to keep the pressure up and get these cases done as soon as 

we can," McClain said. 



Attorneys for the manufacturers left the courthouse without speaking 

to reporters. 



During their closing arguments, they told jurors their product is 

safe when handled properly. Information sent to popcorn plant 

officials warned the flavoring should be mixed in a well-ventilated 

area and a respirator should be worn when heating it. 



"We know beyond a shadow of doubt that if you use basic hygiene 

practices, you don't have a problem in this plant," said attorney 

Mike Patton, who represents New York-based International Flavors and 

Fragrances. 



Gilster-Mary Lee, which was not named in the suit, remodeled the 

plant and ordered workers to wear respirators after government 

investigators in 2001 linked a chemical in the butter flavoring, 

diacetyl, to the workers' illnesses. The southwest Missouri plant 

still uses the same butter flavoring, but there have been no reports 

of illness since changes were implemented, Patton said. 



------------------------------------

Sandy Perle

Vice President, Technical Operations

Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.

3300 Hyland Avenue

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100  Extension 2306

Fax:(714) 668-3149



E-Mail: sperle@globaldosimetry.com

E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net



Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/

Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.globaldosimetry.com/



************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To

unsubscribe, send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the

text "unsubscribe radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail,

with no subject line. You can view the Radsafe archives at

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/