Watchdog journalist exposes toxic hazards faced by workers
Toxic Exposure
Some corporations knowingly expose their workers to dangerous chemicals that put employees’ health and safety at risk, according to a new book by a veteran investigative journalist.
In “The Cancer Factory: Industrial Chemicals, Corporate Deception, and the Hidden Deaths of American Workers,” Texas-based journalist Jim Morris chronicles how some corporations hide workplace hazards that are literally killing employees. The book details a scandal at a Goodyear plant in which workers developed bladder cancer after exposure to the toxic chemical vinyl chloride.
About the Goodyear scandal
According to Morris, Goodyear knowingly exposed workers to deadly toxic chemicals at its Niagara Falls plant, including vinyl chloride. The book notes that Goodyear wasn’t the only company knowingly exposing workers to the deadly chemical – according to Morris, companies like Dow, Conoco, and Oxy were also using vinyl chloride, even though they were aware of its dangers.
In an interview, Morris said “pretty much any major company that was using vinyl chloride from the 1950s all the way up to the present pretty much knew how bad this stuff was – and that it could cause a rare form of liver cancer and probably brain cancer.” Morris added: “It was very close to a conspiracy.”
Exposure to vinyl chloride is also linked to birth defects. An epidemiological study that compared rates of birth defects in a city with a vinyl chloride polymerization plant to rates in three other communities found that the city with the vinyl chloride plant had an excess of birth defects.
About the vinyl chloride study
The epidemiological study compared rates of birth defects over a 15-year period in the Canadian city of Shawinigan, home to a vinyl chloride polymerization plant since 1943. Researchers found that the number of birth defects in Shawinigan was higher and fluctuated seasonally in a way that corresponded with changes in the concentration of vinyl chloride in the environment.
What is vinyl chloride?
Vinyl chloride is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and vinyl products, such as wire and cable coatings, and packaging materials. Occupational exposure to vinyl chloride may occur in workers involved with the production, use, transportation, storage, or disposal of the chemical.
Why is vinyl chloride dangerous?
Exposure to vinyl chloride is associated with several reproductive, acute, and chronic effects. Exposure is also linked to an increased risk of cancer, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified vinyl chloride as a carcinogen.
Reproductive/developmental effects
- Birth abnormalities
- Decreased fetal weight and higher incidence of birth defects
- Association between men exposed occupationally and miscarriages in their wives’ pregnancies
- Inhaled vinyl chloride is associated with an increase in the risk of a rare form of liver cancer in humans
- Increased rates of liver cancer
Chronic effects
- Liver damage may result in humans from chronic exposure through inhalation and oral exposure
- A small number of individuals exposed occupationally to high levels of vinyl chloride in the air have developed symptoms that include changes in the bones at the ends of the fingers, joint and muscle pain, and scleroderma-like skin changes, where the skin becomes thick and there is slight edema
- Animal studies have shown effects on the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system from chronic exposure to vinyl chloride
How We Help Victims of Toxic ExposureOur birth defects victims attorneys understand the pain that families face when coping with life-altering birth defects—and the frustration of knowing they could have been prevented. Our team has over 40 years of combined experience in birth defects litigation in cases involving semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, pesticides, and energy production. We have the resources and experience to fight on behalf of our clients against corporations that put them in danger. Call us to see how we can help you and your family receive justice for birth defects.