So if you saw reports from the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), all of which are government organizations, you would believe what they say? Because they all say the same thing about the link between diketones and bronchiolitis obliterans.
And you say they were inhaling ridiculous amounts of airborne chemicals but you still can't list any data. Who's determining what's ridiculous?
"Trace amounts" of eliquids?
Here's
Five Pawns own test results.
Or here where
VaporShark sent nearly all eliquids they carry for testing (for those who still refuse to check anything, "AP" in their results is Acetylpropionyl otherwise known as 2,3-pentanedione).
NIOSH recommends that workers in flavoring factories limit their exposure of diacetyl to 5 ppb (parts per billion) as a time weighted average during a 40 hour work week. The maximum short term exposure limit (STEL) is 25 ppb over a 15 minute period. For acetyl propionyl (2,3-pentanedione) they recommend 9.3 ppb as a time weighted average over a 40 hour work week. For short term exposure, they recommend 31 ppb over a 15 minute period.
NIOSH contends that workers exposed to these concentrations will have a 1/1000 chance of contracting a serious lung issue, so they are fairly conservative and safe numbers. However, notice how the numbers found in eliquid are measured in parts per million but the NIOSH recommendations are in parts per billion. For those of you who didn't go to school, one billion = 1,000 million. NIOSH is recommending 5 nanograms (ppb) exposure, not 5 micrograms (ppm)
The popcorn factories where workers became ill were studied and air samples were taken. They then calculated the amount of diacetyl (in ppm) found in the air. In the mixing room, they found an average of 57 ppm. In other words, the workers who became ill (and need lung transplants) were only exposed to an average of 57 ppm of diacetyl (yes, they were exposed for 8 hours a day).
Let's say you vape 5mL of Beard's #51 per day. Since there is 1843 micrograms per milliliter (ug/mL) of AP in that liquid (or 1843 ppm), this means you would be inhaling 9,215 micrograms per day or 64,505 micrograms per week. That's 64,505,000 nanograms per week. So, at 5mL a day, you get 9,215 micrograms. 9215/24 = 384 ug per hour. 384/4 = 96 ug per 15 minutes. The STEL (15 minute exposure limit) for AP is 31 ppb or 31 nanograms. Therefore, the 15 minute exposure from vaping would be 96,000 nanograms compared to the NIOSH recommendation of 31 nanograms.