The P-I's Andrew Schneider reported last week that a major manufacturer was removing diacetyl from microwave popcorn, and today that the largest manufacturer, Con-Agra, was taking out the fake-butter chemical even as reports surfaced of the first cases of consumers getting "popcorn lung," or bronchiolitis obliterans, an irreversible and often fatal lung disease.

Since then, queries on the issue from concerned consumers have come to the P-I from around the world. We'll continue to try to answer their questions about diacetyl in popcorn and in other products.

It's no accident that this national -- or, judging from the messages we've received, global -- story was broken by the P-I. Andy, a two-time Pulitzer-winning senior correspondent, has done more on the diacetyl story than any other journalist.

He was deputy managing editor running the projects team at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when a colleague wrote the first stories about popcorn factory workers' health problems in the Midwest.

Then, at the Baltimore Sun, Schneider authored a series which not only exposed more worker illnesses elsewhere in the country, but documented early knowledge of diacetyl's toxicity -- and a subsequent lack of action to safeguard workers or consumers -- in the flavoring industry.

He has also reported on the failure of many in the federal government, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to take action on diacetyl. And he has pointed out that the Environmental Protection Agency, the only agency that has studied consumer use of diacetyl products, has not made public its findings.

Now, back at the P-I, where Andy several years ago exposed another national public-health tragedy, the asbestos poisoning of Libby, Mont., he is continuing his work on the consumer-health aspects of diacetyl. Stay tuned.