Chemical Company To Appeal “Popcorn Lung” Verdict

An Illinois company that manufactures popcorn butter flavoring has announced it intends to appeal a $30.4 million verdict awarded against it last month to a plant worker whose lung was damaged after prolonged exposure to an ingredient found in microwave popcorn.

Gerardo Solis, 45, claimed in the lawsuit that he contracted what is known as “popcorn lung” from prolonged inhalation of vapors from heated diacetyl, a chemical used to make butter flavorings, while he was employed at several popcorn plants in and around Chicago.

The company, BASF, was the only one of sixteen original defendants that refused to settle with Solis before the case went to trial. A BASF spokeswoman said in a statement that the company is confident the verdict will be reversed on appeal.

According to evidence in the case, Solis will eventually require a lung transplant due to his illness, also known as bronchiolitis obliterans. The condition has destroyed nearly 75 percent of his lungs to date.