IBM settles cleanroom worker health lawsuit

03/01/2001

Hank Hogan

ARMONK, NY—IN A MOVE that could signal stormy legal weather for various cleanroom industries, the IBM Corp. (Armonk, NY) has settled the "Ruffing case," a lawsuit involving two cleanroom employees who sued IBM in 1997. The couple contended that their 15-year-old son's birth defects were the result of exposure to gases and chemicals in IBM's East Fishkill, NY, cleanroom.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. In a statement, IBM noted that most civil lawsuits settle out of court and human factors often come into play, as in this case.

"This one was kind of unique in terms of the condition of the effected party and the connections being drawn versus most of the [other cases]," explains IBM spokesman Bill O'Leary.

The others O'Leary refers to are the hundreds of similar lawsuits brought by cleanroom workers against IBM and National Semiconductor Corp. (Santa Clara, CA). In addition to the IBM plant in East Fishkill, the other lawsuits involve an IBM disk drive plant in San Jose, CA, and a National semiconductor facility in Greenock, Scotland. The swarm of lawsuits alleges cancer among adult workers and birth defects among their children.

None have yet come to trial, and it may be years before any of them do. For its part, IBM does not say the Ruffing settlement will prove a bellwether for other cases. Indeed, in its statement announcing the settlement, the company carefully pointed out that it didn't believe it had any liability in the case. O'Leary notes that the company maintains worker health and safety as a top priority.

"We use extraordinary means to maintain a safe and healthful environment within our manufacturing lines," O'Leary says.

He adds that the company considers the lawsuits to be without merit. That's a sentiment echoed by the other cleanroom defendant. "We do not plan to settle since we believe the lawsuit is completely without merit," asserts LuAnn Jenkins, a spokeswoman for National.

No matter what happens to these lawsuits, however, they could have a lasting impact on at least one cleanroom industry. Partly in response to the allegations, the San Jose-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has formed a scientific advisory committee to look into cleanroom worker health claims. It's expected that the committee will make recommendations based on a review of the data by early 2002. That's when the wider influence of these cases may be felt, according to SIA spokeswoman Molly Mar.

"Once the recommendation comes to us by this independent scientific panel, then we'll move from there," she says.

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Plaintiffs in IBM lawsuit appear on Today show

He's blind, has facial and skeletal deformities and must breathe through a tracheotomy at night to survive.

Meet Zachary Ruffing, the 15-year-old kid with Hallermann-Streiff syndrome who is suing IBM Corp. because of his birth defects.

He, and his parents appeared on NBC's Today show to talk about the case and the settlement a judge is expected to sign off on out of court. That same judge must also rule on 200 similar lawsuits, some of which were filed by other IBM employees who either worked at the East Fishkill, NY, or Essex Junction, Vt., facilities.

Zachary's parents, Fay Calton and Mike Ruffing, told Today that they believes the chemicals they were exposed to while working in East Fishkill's cleanrooms, namely chip coatings like glycol ethers, xylene and enambuterol acetate, caused Zachary's abnormalities.

"In a cleanroom, you use the same air over and over and over again," says Mike Ruffing. "It recirculates, so it's not like fresh air is bought in to make it less toxic.

It's there, and as you dump more chemicals in the air, it just gets worse and worse and worse."

In a prepared statement, IBM says it does not believe any of the lawsuits have any merit. "There is no scientific evidence linking these health issues to our cleanrooms or other work environments. We intend to defend our company vigorously," says Laura Wessner, IBM's manager of broadcast media relations. "We have no comment on our litigation plans for future cases. Our decision to settle the Ruffing case has no bearing on future decision regarding any other cases."

The report from Today also indicated that Zachary's condition has never been linked to chemical exposure or any other cause. Animal studies, however, have shown a link between glycol ethers and head and facial deformities.

In 1983, two years before Zachary was born, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), warned computer companies that glycol ethers could "be regarded as having the potential to cause adverse reproductive effects in male and female workers.

NIOSH urged employers to "give this information to their workers," but Calton says IBM never warned her, a charge IBM fervently denies.

The Ruffings are not the only ones suing IBM. In fact, 48 current and former employees have pending lawsuits against the company, citing their children's birth defects were cause d by IBM's negligence.

Today noted that IBM's lawyers declined to speak on camera, but said that although they feel compassion for workers and their children, the scientific evidence does not support employee claims.

Ron Murray Sr., who worked at IBM for 27 years, says he was exposed to the same chemicals as Calton and Mike Ruffing. The first two children Murray and his wife had died as newborns. Edwina, he said, was born with 40 broken bones and had a rare bone disease. She died at 10 months, while a second daughter, Catherine, died as soon as they brought her out of an incubator. Catherine was 3-days-old. An autopsy revealed that what appeared to be two lungs was actually one lung and a giant tumor.

Murray and his wife eventually had two children, and both have health problems. Their 32-year-old son has testicular cancer, while a daughter, 29, has an undiagnosed illness that causes her chronic pain.

Others, who requested anonymity from Today, are also coping with health problems that they hold IBM accountable for.

One man said he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, while another said his wife has cervical cancer.

IBM did stop using glycol ethers, and sought alternatives in the 1980s and fazed them out completely in 1995, 10 years after government warnings.

For people like Zachary Ruffing, it was 10 years too late. "The still should have told people, because they should value people over profit" he says.—MAD