Spring, 1998
Nightmare in Silicon Glen
by Leslie Byster
Jim McCourt, Manager of the Inverclyde Advice and Employment Rights Center in Scotland, visited Silicon Valley this week to attend the 20th anniversary celebration for the Santa Clara Center for Occupational Safety and Health (SCCOSH). He also came to share the stories of women who worked at Nat-Semis (National Semiconductor) in Greenock, Scotland who have suffered miscarriages, breast, uterine and stomach cancers, asthma, and vision problems. These injuries have sparked the formation of a group (PHASE II) for injured electronics workers and their supporters. PHASE II is similar to the 20 year-old SCCOSH.
"There is newly emerging evidence in Scotland's Silicon Glen that is showing the electronics industry is having catastrophic repercussions on the health of workers. The health hazards know no boundaries. They are deadly and utterly indiscriminate," said McCourt. A health study of workers in the industry by the Health and Safety Executive in Scotland has been criticized by Dr. Joseph LaDou, editor of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health.
"Transnationalism is not the sole preserve of capital. Our movement has to adopt a worldwide, proactive strategy that will alert people in all countries to the inherent dangers (environmental and occupational) of this industry," McCourt continued.
An International Campaign for Responsible Technology (I-CRT)is being launched to support organizations in each country that has high-tech development to ensure greater accountability and environmental and worker health protection. ICRT will, for the first time, coordinate the efforts of similar groups throughout the world. Giving workers the chance to be involved in an effective sustaioned worldwide campaign aimed at pressuring the electronics industry into behaving in a responsible manner.
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