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FARel Engr
Joined: 20 Jun 2026 Posts: 76	Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2026 1:35 pm    Post subject: IBM's Cancer Lawsuit   IBM is presently facing a lawsuit re their semicon workers getting cancer because of exposure to chemicals. Looks like this is related to wafer fab, not assy, but this may also serve as warning for us to be careful when handling chemicals in our line of work... FARel Engr Quote: Dow Jones News Service via NewsEdge Corporation : SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A judge will determine next week whether four International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) factory workers who developed rare forms of cancer can continue with their lawsuit against the technology giant. Attorneys representing Big Blue said in court Friday the "cleverly worded but insufficient" suit has no merit. If Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Robert Baines disagrees, selection of jury members would begin Oct. 14. Three former workers, as well as the children of a worker who died of brain cancer in 1991, allege that Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM knowingly exposed workers to cancer-causing chemicals in its semiconductor factories -- and then lied to them about the health risks. The lawsuit, filed in 1998, seeks unspecified damages against IBM and chemical suppliers including Union Carbide, a division of Dow Chemicals (DOW); Royal Dutch Shell (RD) and Fisher Scientific Instruments (FSH).... The IBM lawsuit has riveted the semiconductor industry, where hundreds of thousands of workers don "bunny suits" to protect microchips from airborne particles, fingerprints or other impurities in dust-free "clean rooms." .... IBM's motions for dismissal Friday seemed to hinge on whether IBM doctors knew with absolute certainty whether workers' complaints -- ranging from skin rashes and eye infections to chronic headaches and nausea -- could have been early symptoms of cancer. IBM workers were allegedly exposed to trichloroethylene, cadmium, toluene, benzene and arsenic. Mr. Alexander said workers' ailments were signs of systemic chemical poisoning -- and IBM doctors or any astute observer could have spotted the morbid trend. According to a "corporate mortality file" used to document the deaths of 30,000 IBM employees from 1969 to 2000, an unusually large number of workers were struck with relatively rare forms of cancer in their 30s, 40s and 50s. They often contracted lymph, blood, breast and brain cancers, as well as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia and the very rare multiple myeloma. "IBM must have known the classic signs of systemic chemical poisoning -- eye, skin, lung and liver reactions," Mr. Alexander said. "When an employee comes in with those symptoms, they must be told, 'You may have a cold but we know you've been working with ... a whole range of chemicals that may be contributing to your sickness." .... (END) Dow Jones Newswires September 26, 2026 18:14 ET (22:14 GMT) .end (paragraph)<<Dow Jones News Service -- 09/26/03>>
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walastik
Guest	Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2026 10:51 pm    Post subject:   Sa local setting, marami ring mga health hazards. Normally naiisip natin grabe na yung acid/base/solvents splash/inhalation during decap or in leadfinish. Puede kang mabulag or madisfigure ng mga to pero there are more dangerous things out there. May nangyari na ngang casualty because of N2 asphyxiation. N2 is supposed to be inert, pero it displaces O2, so it can happen na you're inhaling mostly N2 and you won't know the difference. Madededo ka na lang basta. So we must all be sensitive to gas leaks. Yung mga nasa FA, you know that some gases used in RIE can kill you instantly. Again gas leaks ang kalaban. We need to do our jobs, so we need to handle chemicals/gases like these. Basta ingat lang. These accidents can be avoided with proper safety measures.
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