i posted this in the ibm thread in community, and realized it'd be better suited here probably
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/15/opinion/15HERB.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/15/opinion/15HERB.html
I.B.M. Families Ask, 'Why?'
By BOB HERBERT
GOSHEN, N.Y.
The Daley twins, Kate and Kelly, are 24 years old, witty, charming and, above all, intelligent. You couldn't necessarily tell from just talking with them that they had been the victims of a catastrophe.
But you can tell by looking at them.
Kate and Kelly have been profoundly disfigured by a rare degenerative skin disease that literally ravaged their bodies from head to foot. They were born with the disease, epidermolysis bullosa. Its appalling effect has been comparable to being burned every day of one's life.
The twins' bodies are almost completely covered with blisters, sores and terrible wounds that resist healing. They have undergone more than 30 surgeries each. The disease and relentless surgery have all but destroyed their hands, which are now little more than stumps. At times they are unable to open their eyes because of corneal abrasions. When they testified before Congress three years ago in a plea for more funding for research on the disease, Kelly said, "I live in a body that has turned on itself."
When I asked during an interview last week how they managed to keep their spirits up, Kate gave a wry laugh and said, "Antidepressants help."
I interviewed them in the office of one of their lawyers, William DeProspo, and in the presence of their father, Chris Daley, who was employed at the I.B.M. plant in East Fishkill, N.Y., from 1973 to 1993. During most of that time he worked extensively with chemicals, pouring and mixing them, storing them and disposing of them, he said. Many of the chemicals were extremely dangerous, and he believes his exposure to them was the cause of the birth defects that have plagued his daughters.
Many of the damage suits brought against I.B.M. by individuals claiming to have been harmed by chemicals in the workplace involve birth defects suffered by the children of employees. The stories are inevitably heartbreaking. Heather Curtis said she worked with chemicals at I.B.M. while she was pregnant in 1980. Her daughter, Candacé, was born with microcephaly, an abnormality that retarded the development of her brain, and no knees. She was unable to breathe on her own and was not physically capable of talking. Ms. Curtis has a son who was born before Candacé and a son born after her, and both are normal.
Nancy LaCroix has worked for about 20 years at I.B.M.'s huge plant in Essex Junction, near Burlington, Vt. She said she worked in areas in which she was surrounded by chemical fumes ("it really smelled bad in there") and employees at times had to leave their work stations because of burning eyes and nostrils.
In 1999 her daughter Ally was born with severe bone defects, including encephalocele, a condition in which a portion of the brain protrudes through a defect in the skull. Ally's fingers are stunted and "tapered like a starfish," said Ms. LaCroix, "and she really doesn't have toes."
The child has had eight operations and extensive physical therapy. Now 4 1/2, she complains about headaches "every single day," her mother said.
There is a long list of young people and children who have suffered tragic birth defects spina bifida, missing or deformed limbs, a missing kidney, a missing vagina, blindness whose parents (in some cases both parents) worked for I.B.M. and are now suing.
Plaintiffs' lawyers contend there are higher than normal rates of birth defects among I.B.M. employees who have worked with the toxic chemicals that are common to semiconductor manufacturing.
One of the lawyers, Steven Phillips of Manhattan, said: "These cases are extreme. I've never seen children as badly hurt as these."
I.B.M. strongly denies that there are more instances of birth defects in the children of its employees than among the population in general. And representatives have repeatedly said there is no scientific evidence associating chemicals in its workplaces with birth defects, cancers or any other illnesses or abnormalities.
The legal process will determine whether the plaintiffs in these suits deserve to be compensated. The larger question is whether the chemicals used in the semiconductor industry, not just at I.B.M. but throughout the U.S. and around the world, have harmed large numbers of workers and their offspring. And if so, what should be done to aid those individuals, and to prevent the harm from continuing.
