NIOSH invites public comment on a draft document, "Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione.” The draft document is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/review/docket245/default.html and is also attached below. Public comments will be accepted until
October 14, 2011.
For Action: Please contact Ann Brockhaus (
ann.brockhaus@mercer.com) or Scott Madar (
scott.madar@mercer.com) if you have questions or concerns about this draft document. We are considering having a teleconference to discuss the draft and other diacetyl and flavorings issues for interested Networks members. Let us know if this would be of interest to you.
NIOSH also held a public meeting to discuss and obtain comments on the draft Criteria Document on August 26, 2011, in Washington, DC. Much of the day was dedicated to NIOSH staff presentations reviewing key elements of the document. Two issues dominated the discussions:
- NIOSH staff believe they have the data to support a Diacetyl REL of 5 ppb TWA and a STEL of 25 ppb. Although 2,3-Pentanedione is structurally similar to diacetyl, NIOSH recommends “keeping occupational exposure to 2,3-pentanedione below a level comparable to that recommended for diacetyl. However, analytical limitations of the recommended method indicate that 2,3-pentanedione can only be reliably quantified to 9.3 ppb. This is slightly higher than what is recommended for diacetyl. NIOSH recommends that exposure to 2,3-pentanedione be kept below a concentration of 9.3 ppb in a TWA during a 40-hour work week. NIOSH also recommends a STEL for 2,3-pentanedione of 31 ppb during a 15-minute period."
- NIOSH staff believe "Engineering and work practices are available to control diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione exposures below the RELs [Eastern Research Group 2009c; NIOSH 2008a, d]. Validated analytic methods are available that allow measurements at the RELs [Eide 2008, 2010; Simmons and Hendricks 2008]."
The latest OSHA Regulatory Semiannual Agenda, dated July 7, 2011, notes that the next step for OSHA’s rulemaking on “Occupational Exposure to Food Flavorings Containing Diacetyl and Diacetyl Substitutes” is initiation in June 2011 and then completion in July 2011 of the Peer Review of the Health Effects and Risk Assessment.
Additional information can be found on OSHA’s Flavorings-Related Lung Disease Topic Page at
