Family sues Rohm & Haas over cancer death

Rohm & Haas, the Philadelphia-based chemical company, was hit yesterday with another wrongful-death lawsuit stemming from a possible cancer cluster at its research-and-development headquarters in Montgomery County.

[DJJ]

Another corporate handout......and we wonder why we continue to move jobs overseas....

[Carla]

DJJ wrote:

Another corporate handout......and we wonder why we continue to move jobs overseas....

Not so fast...There has to be records of some sort--air quality sampling, ventilation, violations. Signs should be posted where there's work being done on known carcinogens. There should be appropriate safety training and records to support this. What I am wondering is why the family is not suing the company he actually worked for? I would think they would be the ones to insure the safety of their workers. Then, there is the Right to Know of any chemicals you are working around. His company should have obtained safety data sheets.

My sympathy goes out to the family of this man. We need to protect workers as much as possible and workers need to ask questions without fear of reprisal--and in reference to sending this work out of the country, are you saying foreign workers are less than human? Identifying a cluster like this and disregarding the safety of workers outside this country should be criminal.

I am not saying R&H is negligent--that is for the courts to decide. There is probably a little more risk involved working for chemical and pharmaceutical companies. What would be very bad is if they knew and attempted to cover it up.

[DJJ]

You can have all the Safety Data sheets in the world, training, PPE, etc.........if not utilized than it doesn't do anyone any good.

Folks are sue happy in today's environment.

[Sebastian]

Does anyone honestly believe a chemical company can FULLY understand the hazards of working with hazardous chemicals from the onset of use? I mean, if you look at the cases of workers with the brain tumors, most of the workers were high level science grads who were pioneers in their field, there are bound to be some unforeseen hazards without proper PPE control. These workers were not told the chemicals they were working with were safe. These scientists KNEW they were unsafe and to say they had "no idea" is ignorant of the scientific fact. It takes years to compile full hazard data on a chemical and yes, sometimes acute and chronic side effects are experienced on certain individuals before we know what could potentially happen upon exposure.
Did the Curie's ever try to sue? I think not. Marie Curie died of radiation poisoning because of her research. Now we use lab animals for testing but still all hazards are not identified, there are bound to be long term effects we cannot foresee or predict without waiting for exposure to inevitably happen.

[Carla]

Sebastian wrote:

Does anyone honestly believe a chemical company can FULLY understand the hazards of working with hazardous chemicals from the onset of use? I mean, if you look at the cases of workers with the brain tumors, most of the workers were high level science grads who were pioneers in their field, there are bound to be some unforeseen hazards without proper PPE control. These workers were not told the chemicals they were working with were safe. These scientists KNEW they were unsafe and to say they had "no idea" is ignorant of the scientific fact. It takes years to compile full hazard data on a chemical and yes, sometimes acute and chronic side effects are experienced on certain individuals before we know what could potentially happen upon exposure.
Did the Curie's ever try to sue? I think not. Marie Curie died of radiation poisoning because of her research. Now we use lab animals for testing but still all hazards are not identified, there are bound to be long term effects we cannot foresee or predict without waiting for exposure to inevitably happen.

Much of what you say is true. There can never be a guarantee of saftey, however there are many precautions that can be taken. Scientists that work with chemicals normally do so under a fume hood that is tested regularly. Biologicals are handled under another type of hood and isotopes are shielded and exposure is monitored. Protective gear--various types of gloves, eye protection, bunny suits--whatever is necessary are issued.

Rumor has it that R&H has been searching for possible reasons for this cluster. They have brought in independent groups to try and get some answers. It will be interesting to see where this court case goes or if an out of court settlement is reached. What we really don't know all the facts. This man was a contracted employee which makes this case a little more interesting.

[Carla]

DJJ wrote:

You can have all the Safety Data sheets in the world, training, PPE, etc.........if not utilized than it doesn't do anyone any good.
Folks are sue happy in today's environment.

You are right, if these things are not utilized, it can't do any good. In many places, safety training is mandatory and employees are required to sign off that they have received training. Self-audits and OSHA inspections are also held. This man was a contract employee and I am just wondering if he received adequate training for the type of exposure he was subjected to.

Even moreso than chemicals, exposure to unknowns and "compounds" can be very risky. There is very little data available and there is a reluctance to release too much info.

Before you rush to judgement here, remember there are always two sides to these situations. The fact there was a cluster, makes me suspect there may be more to this story. Having to identify a common exposure amongst everyone would seem like an impossible task because these things often take a period of years to show.