Wafer fab, Samsung, cancer, semiconductor, health Samsung study rejects cancer claims

LONDON – A study commissioned by consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has found no evidence that workers contracted cancer as a result of working at its wafer fabs, according to reports.

The study findings have been released a few days after a court in Seoul, South Korea, ordered that Samsung pay compensation to the families of two young employees who died of leukemia.

Samsung has always denied that working on its production lines increased the likelihood of contracting cancer and refused to accept the court ruling. However, reportedly Samsung has now said it will consider offering money to some former employees diagnosed with cancer.

According to a Reuters report, Samsung says that 26 employees who worked in chip manufacturing have been diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma and 10 of them have died of cancer. Samsung commissioned U.S. consultancy Environ Corp. to conduct the latest study, Reuters said. The Samsung commissioned report is the third one that has failed to find a link between chip work at Samsung and cancer.

The studies were initiated after lobbying groups came together in 2010 to launch the "Samsung Accountability Campaign" with the claim that they had discovered an unusual cluster of cancers amongst Samsung fab workers.

Samsung has not released the full report citing confidentiality agreements with is chemical suppliers, although the report has been reviewed by researchers from four leading U.S. universities, Reuters said.

"Samsung has worked to transparently address questions about workplace health and safety...We believe this study...is consistent with previous studies that found no correlation between the workplace environment and employee illness," Reuters quoted Kwon Oh-hyun, head of Samsung's semiconductor business as saying.


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Wafer fab, Samsung, cancer, semiconductor, health Samsung study rejects cancer claims