A recently released study, published in the online scientific journal Environmental Health, found an increased rate of various types of cancers among Plant workers at International Business Machines Corp. (IBM).
For many years IBM executives have fought to thwart the release of the study conducted by Boston University professor of environmental health Richard Clapp.
Details of the Study
The study evaluates information collected by IBM of the ages and causes of fatality of almost 32,000 of its employees who died sometime between 1969 and 2001. Clapp obtained the data, referred to as IBM’s “Corporate Mortality File,” when he was an expert witness in a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of several disk-drive plant workers who developed cancer.
Researchers compared the cancer death rate among IBM employees to the average national death rate from several specific cancers. Out of the 27,272 male computer workers who died, 7,697 of deaths were from cancer—a “significantly greater” number than the predicted national average of 7,206.
There was a reported 4,669 deaths among female IBM employees, 1,667 of which were caused by cancer. This figure was well over the 1,454 cancer deaths that were expected of the national average.
Furthermore, several particular cancers showed a significantly high rate compared to the national average, including brain, kidney, central nervous system, digestive organ, malignant melanoma, lung, breast, and female genital cancer.
Conclusions
Lead analyst Clapp concludes in his report that IBM workers suffered an increased risk of developing cancer than those in the general population. He also revealed that fatalities resulting from cancer were elevated among IBM plant workers.
While the technology industry, particularly disk-drive plants and semiconductors, often utilize solvents and chemicals that are known to cause cancer, IBM’s database failed to specify which employees were exposed to which toxic chemicals.
An IBM spokesman argues against Clapp’s findings claiming the study is “based on flawed methodology and woefully incomplete data.”