Campaigners reject report that clears factory of cancer link

A DECADE-LONG battle over fears that chemicals in an electronics factory caused workers to develop cancer took an acrimonious turn yesterday, as campaigners questioned the validity of a study that said the claims were unfounded.

• Workers at NSUK, where toxic chemicals are used in silicon chip production Picture: Donald MacLeod

Employees of the National Semiconductor (NSUK) plant in Greenock believe toxic chemicals used in the production of silicon chips have raised the incidence of cancer among their number, claims that appeared to be quashed by a report published yesterday.

The independent study of cancer rates at the NSUK plant found there was no link between the work undertaken at the factory and the ill-health of its workers. This contradicted previous research that said there was a possibility chemicals could be to blame.

But campaigners claimed the latest findings were not "honest". They accused the Health and Safety Executive, which carried out the study, of "capitulating" to the electronics industry and said the research was tainted because it drew on industry-funded work, carried out by IBM, to reach its conclusions.

The latest report, produced with the Institute of Occupational Medicine, updated an HSE study carried published in 2001 that suggested workers suffered a higher-than-average rate of lung, breast and stomach cancer among women and brain cancer among men.

Since then, 32 NSUK workers suffering from those four strains of the disease have passed away, and in their latest investigations, researchers discovered a further 20 breast cancer cases among employees. yet researchers told workers yesterday that no link could be established.

However, Jim McCourt, of the Phase Two campaign group, said: "Until we get a proper and honest study, the body-bags will continue in the industry. The original study found four cases of male brain cancer where there should be none. I'm concerned the new study dismissed this as some kind of anomaly. HSE is the first independent organisation in the world to do a study of this industry, and they just capitulated."

NSUK said the report provided proof of its safety record, and Dr John Osman, one of the lead authors, defended the use of the IBM data, insisting that it enabled researchers to get a clearer picture of the state of the industry as a whole.

He said: "We have not been able to find any evidence why workers should be concerned about their work at NSUK.

"We think we can reassure workers, but we can never absolutely prove a negative. We have not found that NSUK needs to be doing anything differently. There are toxic chemicals used in this workplace, and NSUK knows they have to deal with those chemicals."

Andrew Watterson, professor at Stirling University and member of the Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group, said the latest findings were "odd".

He added: "The 2010 report of HSE found continued failures in occupational health in the industry.

"So we have a dysfunctional industry where exposures to carcinogens are noted and failures on occupational health management documented."

An NSUK spokesman said: "The outcome of the study confirms the safety of the working environment at NSUK. These results mean that two HSE studies have now shown there is no evidence of a link between the working environment in Greenock and an increased risk of cancer."

Case study

CHRISTINE Buchanan got breast cancer two years after completing two decades of work at NatSemi in Greenock.

She was interviewed for the latest study but said the HSE never asked her medical history and questions the research's accuracy.

Christine, from Largs, north Ayrshire, said: "I got a letter and it says there's no link between working there and cancer.

"I'm not saying my cancer was linked, but I'm not sure if the study was big enough.

"I can understand it's complicated, but they didn't ask my medical history and I don't know what input they got.

"You just wonder how valid their statistical survey was. I was sceptical of the study from the start. The HSE should be the experts."

The 60-year-old worked at NatSemi from 1983 to 2003 in the quality assurance and the analytical services lab. While the procedures changed, acids are still used to make chips for the most common computerised devices in every home.

In 2005 Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is now healthy after fighting through a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Christine said: "I worked there for more than 20 years and I know NatSemi do have very good safety procedures. They're very careful with chemicals, but I don't think it was always like that in the past.

"I don't think anything is ever going to come up to say this is definitely what caused my illness. There's so many factors.

"But I have friends who work there and I would not like to think if the chemicals caused my breast cancer that they're still working there."