Theater Objects To Smell Of Popcorn

(CBS) CHICAGO The smell of popcorn may bring a whiff of excitement to many people, but not everyone appreciates it.

Published reports say the owners of the Oriental Theatre Building at 24 W. Randolph St., has filed a lawsuit to block the popcorn maker from opening in the building, which houses the Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

The theater planned to sublease a storefront to Garrett’s, but the owners of the building fear the smell of popcorn will invade other offices and cause people to cancel their leases.

They want a judge to stop the store from opening, or else install a ventilation system.

The Oriental Theatre opened in 1926 as a cinema, and has housed the Ford Center since 1998.

Garrett’s Popcorn is a local chain which already operates three stores downtown and one on the Magnificent Mile.

Now that we have a smoke gnatzie in charge of our building, and we constantly get reminder notes about smoking areas, well I have started a revolt. I have a group of us that write complaints about offensive smells from the office microwave. We complain that we shouldn't have to smell the oder of burnt popcorn in our work area. The microwaves should be moved to the cafeteria.

If we are ever successful, then I can't wait to hear the complaints......

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You may be onto something. - - -Story quoted below:

~~Dangerous Flavorings

In mid-March, a married couple was awarded $20 million for lung damage that the husband claims was due to exposure to butter flavoring at a microwave-popcorn plant where he worked from 1997 to 1999.
The man was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, which is characterized by inflammation and scarring in the smallest airways of the lungs, which leads to severe and disabling shortness of breath. The specific claim was that the manufacturer of the butter flavoring (International Flavors and Fragrances Inc.) failed to warn their customers about the dangers of chemicals contained in the butter flavor. The case was the first of 30 lawsuits filed against the company by plant workers. A spokesperson for the plaintiff’s lawyer stated that the lung damage was probably caused by diacetyl, which is a component of the flavoring. An important part of the case was that International Flavors and Fragrances required all of its own workers to use respirators when working with butter flavoring, but did not warn its customers of the dangers of the butter flavoring or recommend that its customers afford their workers the same protections that it was using with its own workers.

The EPA has recently announced that it will investigate the safety of diacetyl when contained in products for consumers. The Agency hopes to complete the first phase of a study this fall identifying a wide range of volatile organic compounds that may be emitted when microwave popcorn is popped and opened. Work will then begin on quantifying the amounts of these indoor air pollutants. (Chemical Regulation Reporter, 3/22/04).
REF: Chemically Speaking, April 2004.
Environmental Toxicology Newsletter

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