TOXICOLOGIST BACKS EX-WORKERS' CHARGES
By Elise Ackerman
Mercury News
November 26, 2003
A doctor who specializes in toxicology told jurors Tuesday that two former IBM employees had suffered ``systemic chemical poisoning'' while working at the computer company's San Jose plant.
In a case being heard in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Alida Hernandez, 73, and James Moore, 62, are alleging that IBM knew they had been poisoned by toxins at its Cottle Road facility during the 1970s and 1980s. They also contend that the computer giant concealed that knowledge from them.
IBM maintains that Hernandez and Moore's health problems were not caused by the chemicals in the workplace.
Review of records
Toxicologist Daniel Teitelbaum, who previously has consulted for both the U.S. Occupational and Safety and Health Administration and IBM, testified that his review of the plaintiffs' medical records showed that Hernandez and Moore had received doses of toxins strong enough to trigger illness. Hernandez had breast cancer and Moore is being treated for non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Teitelbaum also testified that some of the chemicals Hernandez and Moore were exposed to were carcinogenic.
The plaintiffs' attorney, Richard Alexander, said he intends to call a doctor at the California Department of Health Services to testify about links between Hernandez and Moore's cancers and chemical exposure at IBM.
To win the case, Alexander must prove IBM knew that Hernandez and Moore had been poisoned and that it hid that information from them, contributing to the development of their diseases.
Other explanations
On cross-examination, IBM attorney Robert Weber established that there were alternate explanations for the health problems experienced by Moore and Hernandez while they worked at IBM.
Under questioning, Teitelbaum acknowledged that an allergy to pollen may have worsened sinus and nasal problems Moore has attributed to chemical exposure.
He also acknowledged that diabetes, hormone-replacement therapy and obesity could have contributed to Hernandez's health problems.
Teitelbaum, however, questioned why Moore and Hernandez were both sent back to work with chemicals that would have clearly aggravated their conditions.
© 2003 Mercury News and wire service sources
