Inside
IAQ Update:
Cleanroom Cancer Cases
Large-scale Scottish study underway
Cleanrooms are essential to the so-called "new economy" sector. They are key to such high growth industries as pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotechnology, and semiconductor manufacturing. These rooms are essentially designed to limit dust and to protect the purity of the product being manufactured in them. However, anecdotal evidence has arisen regarding cancer effects in cleanroom workers.
National Semiconductor case: For example, on May 25, 1999, a group of ten women filed a class action lawsuit against National Semiconductor Electronics Company in Santa Clara County, California. This class action suit is related to a semiconductor fab in Greencock, Scotland, the so-called "Silicon Glen" area. As a class action, the suit will cover any former or present employees at National Semiconductor plants in both the U.S. and U.K. During May 2000, former employees of National Semiconductor visited the Greencock fab with Santa Clara lawyer, Richard Alexander, and the complaints are likely to be heard in a Santa Clara court during 2001.
On March 28, 1996, a similar suit was filed against chemical suppliers to IBM alleging that cancer deaths, testicular cancers, and birth defects resulted from workplace exposures to toxics in cleanrooms. This suit was supported in part by an extensive study by Johns Hopkins of workers at 14 semiconductor manufacturers that showed an increased risk of spontaneous abortions from ethylene-based glycol ethers. These cases can be expensive as shown by a 1996 settlement by an Idaho chipmaker for $2.25 million for reproductive illness.
Chemicals: Since the John Hopkins study, such glycol ethers are no longer used in most major semiconductor fabs. However, other hazards are still under review. For example, recent data have also raised concerns about respiratory tract effects of hydrogen selenide, a colorless gas used in the preparation of semiconductor materials for use in lasers, solar cells, and other optical-electronic equipment. However, the extent to which these other chemicals are involved in the injuries alleged in the National Semiconductor case or the IBM cases is not known.
Scottish Study: Another study is now underway in Scotland by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) [a U.K. government agency]. This study is designed to involve 4500 current and former employees of the Greencock fab. According to Stewart Campbell, Head of Operations in HSE, "the study aims to establish the number of cancer cases occurring in the work force since the plant opened … compared with the number that might be expected in a Scottish workforce of similar size over the same time period."
The semiconductor industry has agreed to cooperate with this latest study and has agreed to address any problems revealed by the study. The application of these studies and the existence of the cancer phenomenon at cleanrooms in other industries are currently unreported.
To request more information or a cleanroom study at your facility, please contact OMNI at 800-951-7625 |
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