CONTENTS

Production lies

Nat Semi cancer toll is “tip of the iceberg”

Britain: Microelectronics workers protest at safety “stunt”

US case raises microchip cancer compensation hopes

Helen Clark, global high tech campaigner

Chipmakers’ cancer study too little, too late

US case raises microchip cancer compensation hopes

Silicon Glen safety record 'worst in UK'

US firm investigated by police for spying on safety activist

PRODUCTION LIES

Production lies
Revealed! US chips firm's secret PR strategy to undermine Silicon Glen health campaigners

After hearing reports that women workers at the National Semiconductor microchip factory in Greenock were suffering serious health problems, local advice worker Jim McCourt set up Phase 2, a group representing sick employees. The company's response was a dirty tricks campaign. Jim tells his story... more

More than 70 cancer deaths at the National Semiconductor plant in Greenock, Scotland, could be the tip of the iceberg, health experts have warned. Experts have identified several types of cancer, including brain and breast tumours, which are four to five times higher than normal.

Jim McCourt of Phase Two, a support group for Nat Semi workers, said: “This could be potentially the tip of the iceberg. Former employees and their survivors should be very concerned.”

An open letter signed by an international team of medical experts says they are worried about proposed new research into the factory. The experts warn that the government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is carrying out the investigation, is coming under “undue political pressure to obtain equivocal or negative results.” The planned follow-up study to a 2001 report is already a year behind schedule and has yet to start.

Professor Andrew Watterson of the University of Stirling is one of the six international experts who signed the letter, complaining about a plan to scale down the scope of the investigation to just 200 out of thousands of potentially affected workers. He said big studies are better because they pick up any adverse health effects of chemicals.

“Employees should be concerned we won't apparently see large, preferably international studies, of the industry in the foreseeable future,” he said: “Recent US studies indicate continued cause for concern about the industry and have not given it a clean bill of health. Small studies may show no problem when there may be a problem and lead to complacency or inaction.”

Professor Watterson added: “We have seriously under-estimated or downplayed the contribution that work-caused and work-related health plays in Scotland. If we don't look, we won't find. If we don't look properly, then we may miss serious occupational health problems.”

Risks 259, 3 June 2006

Britain: Microelectronics workers protest at safety “stunt”
Former National Semiconductor workers and campaigners have expressed dismay at the company’s paid-for high profile in a major safety event. They claim the Nat-Semi sponsorship of the RoSPA Scotland two-day event was just a PR “stunt”.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005

Britain: US case raises microchip cancer compensation hopes
Microchip workers in Scotland hope a lawsuit against electronics company IBM in the United States could strengthen their case for compensation. Workers from the National Semiconductor plant in Greenock have already opened compensation claims and believe that the IBM case could strengthen their hand.
Risks 128, 18 October 2003

Helen Clark, global high tech campaigner
Helen Clark, a Scottish woman who fought high tech hazards on her doorstep and won acclaim worldwide, has died. Helen was chair of Phase Two, the campaign group for those fighting hazards and ill-health caused by the microchip industry in Scotland’s Silicon Glen. She suspected the cancer that was to kill her was, like other cases known to the group, related to exposures at the Greenock National Semiconductor plant where she worked. She was held in high regard among the global network of campaigners involved in the International Campaign for Responsible Technology for her campaigning, including throwing down a face-to-face challenge to George Scalise of the US Semiconductor Industry Associa tion to conduct a meaningful health study of electronics workers. Last year the organisation caved in and said it would conduct a study. Investigations of high tech cancer, reproductive and other health risks in UK microelectronic plants similarly only took place after concerted Phase Two pressure.In 2002, Helen and fellow campaigner Jim McCourt accepted the Bob and Sydney Brown International Humanitarian Award in the US for their work with Phase Two. [12 June 2004]
Helen Clark receiving the Bob and Sydney Brown International Humanitarian Award 2002 • International Campaign for Responsible Technology

Chipmakers’ cancer study too little, too late
A microelectronics trade group has said it is to sponsor a study on cancer risks in semiconductor manufacturing facilities. George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), said: 'This industry has always looked for ways to improve the manufacturing processes that lower environmental impacts and improve the health and safety conditions for our employees.' Critics have charged for years, however, that the chipmaking industry has stalled efforts to create good data on cancer and other risks in the plants. 'It's kind of a day late and a dollar short,' said Ted Smith of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. Smith said the study could be a good sign but that its credibility would depend on who actually performed the research and on whether there would be a third-party oversight panel to certify the findings. Jim McCourt of the campaign group Phase II, based in Scotland’s Silicon Glen and representing ex-industry workers with cancer and other complaints, said his group also greeted than announcement with caution. 'The fact that an independent study has not been undertaken in this industry is disgraceful,' he added.
Risks 149, 27 March 2004

Silicon Glen safety record 'worst in UK'
Scotland’s high-tech microelectronics companies have broken safety rules far more often than their counterparts in England and Wales, an investigation has revealed. Four Scottish semiconductor manufacturers were guilty of 28 breaches of the regulations meant to protect the health and safety of workers, reports the Sunday Herald. This compares to just two breaches by one manufacturer south of the border. The breaches were found by HSE inspectors. They include failing to control exposure to toxic fumes from acids and cancer-causing chemicals, and inadequate maintenance and training. The revelations have been greeted with anger by trade unionists, who accuse semiconductor companies of having a 'grim' safety record. 'Workers involuntarily breathe contaminated air, which, like asbestos, could give them diseases in later life,' said Jim McCourt of safety campaign group Phase 2. 'I find it deeply disturbing that every time regulators look for problems in this industry, they find them. It is an industry which risks workers’ lives for profit in pursuit of production at all costs.'
Risks 122, 6 September 2003

US firm investigated by police for spying on safety activist
A US multinational microchip maker is being investigated by police for allegedly spying on a Scottish union safety activist. After hearing reports that women workers at the National Semiconductor microchip plant in Greenock were suffering cancers, fertility problems, reproductive illnesses and miscarriages, Jim McCourt, who works for Inverclyde Occupational Health Project and is a member of the GMB trade union, set up Phase II - People for Health and Safety in Electronics - an umbrella group representing sick employees. Now internal company briefings have revealed National Semiconductor’s response - it has been carrying out surveillance on him, his fellow workers and sick and dying women who worked at the company. National Semiconductor has admitted it was behind the surveillance. Jim McCourt has reported the alleged illegal surveillance and Strathclyde Police has confirmed that detectives ware beginning investigations. McCourt is also preparing a civil action to sue the firm for illegally spying on him.
Risks 15, 18 August 2001