"I wasn't snorting the stuff you know," Watson, the sole reported case of "popcorn lung" disease in a non-factory worker, said during an interview late Wednesday. "You know when you open it up, you get the 'whoof."'
The suburban Denver furniture salesman acknowledged he enjoyed at least two bags of popcorn every day for 10 years, buying it by the case, until he was diagnosed by lung specialists at National Jewish Medical and Research Center this year.
Watson, 53, said his breathing has improved since his doctor told him to quit eating his extra-buttery microwave popcorn and lose weight. He said he is dieting and has lost some 35 pounds, regained lung capacity, and his prognosis is good.
"For what I've got and what I do, I get along fine," he said. "I don't climb mountains and I don't ride bikes up to Vail Pass. I play golf."
Popcorn flavoring contains the chemical diacetyl, which has been linked to lung damage in factory workers testing hundreds of bags of microwave popcorn per day and inhaling its fumes. The chemical is a naturally occurring compound that gives butter its flavor and is also found in cheese and even wine, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
It hasbeen approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a flavor ingredient, but hundreds of workers have sued flavoring makers in recent years for lung damage.
There are no warnings from federal regulators, nor is there medical advice on how consumers should treat news of the rare, life-threatening disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as popcorn lung.
Dr. Cecile Rose, a lung specialist at National Jewish, raised the possibility of a link between Watson's heavy popcorn consumption and his breathing problems, and in July sent a letter sent to the FDA warning them of that possibility.
Doctors tested Watson's home for levels of diacetyl fumes and found that while microwaving popcorn in the kitchen, peak levels of fumes were similar to those measured in factories, Rose said.
The Flavoring and Extract Manufacturers Association sponsored research by a team from National Jewish, which included Rose, that resulted in microwave popcorn manufacturers installing large fans and vents next to microwaves that are in a room separate from workers.
Michael Van Dyke, a member of the National Jewish team, said they found factory workers were exposed to between .75 to 4 parts per million of diacetyl. Tests in Watson's kitchen where the microwave would vent and where he would open popcorn bags were between .5 and 3 parts per million, Van Dyke said.
While Rose said she still lets her kids microwave popcorn at home, she is concerned the high levels of diacetyl fumes measured at Watson's home could be present any time consumers microwave popcorn, and that these high levels could be a factor in causing the disease. "We don't know yet. We think it's a possibility," Rose said.
It was her work with the manufacturers association that led Rose to suspect popcorn fumes might be a factor in Watson's case. Until then, Watson's breathing had deteriorated despite CAT scans and steroids.
"It sounds like a joke," said Watson's wife, Mary, who sometimes prepared her husband's popcorn but shows no symptoms of the disease.
"I go to work, I come home, go to the golf course and I go to church,"Wayne Watson said of his routine. "I started popping popcorn because it's tasty and easy to do."
An avid golfer and member of a church choir, Watson said he first noticed he had trouble while singing. By the time he sought help from National Jewish, doctors had determined his lung capacity was down to 50 percent, he said.
Until then, he ate two or three bags of popcorn each evening while watching movies. He declined to identify the brand, saying only it was a local store brand.
Watson has been treated for breathing problems as an outpatient at National Jewish since February 2006 and started working with Rose in February 2007. He no longer uses an inhaler or takes steroids; instead of popcorn, he now snacks on fruits and vegetables.
"America: Read the labels, and just be careful about what we put into our bodies and always practice moderation," Watson said. "Don't go crazy."
