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Jobs Are Going, Chemicals Linger

A suit in an old factory town against IBM over a once widely used

solvent could spur cases elsewhere

by Steve Hamm

Business Week

In Endicott, N.Y., an arch extending over East Main Street

reads: " Home of the Square Deal. " The sign harks back to the early

20th century when this Susquehanna River town was dominated by two

paternalistic employers, Endicott Shoe, which is out of

business, and IBM (IBM).

Big Blue is still there, but just barely. Its head count dwindled

from a peak of 12,500 in 1984 to about 1,200 today. In this played-

out factory town, IBM's legacy is growing more stained by the day.

After contaminants leaked from an IBM plant decades ago and spread

in groundwater beneath more than 400 homes, locals no longer felt

they were getting a square deal from Big Blue.

It's a measure of their dissatisfaction that on Jan. 3 a group of

seven law firms filed suits against IBM on behalf of 94 residents

and business owners. As many as 900 more lawsuits are expected to

follow. The plaintiffs claim to have suffered health or financial

injuries as a result of odorless vapors from industrial solvents

collecting in their homes, including the carcinogen

trichloroethylene, commonly called TCE. A state study in 2006 showed

higher-than-normal incidences of cancer and birth defects in houses

above the polluted groundwater, but it didn't prove causation. In

interviews with BusinessWeek, IBM denies culpability. The suits

have " no basis in science or law, " says a spokesperson.

Litigation could drag on for years, but the case already stands as a

warning for communities and businesses elsewhere. During America's

industrial heyday, TCE was a commonly used solvent for degreasing

machinery. Only in recent years has the vaporous form of the

chemical been recognized as a threat. It could be present in

thousands of former industrial sites, where TCE vapors can pool

under foundations and seep into basements.

The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that such vapor

pollution could be a problem in 852 of its Superfund cleanup

sites. " We think this is a big issue that could affect communities'

health, " says Mears, an EPA public outreach officer.

`ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS'Understandably, passions run high in

Endicott. " IBM came here, they had a great business, they ruined us,

and they left, " says an embittered Betty Havel, 53, a plaintiff in

the case and a nurse at an area hospital. and Tiah Every knew

nothing of TCE vapors when they moved to town and rented an

apartment above the polluted groundwater six years ago. Their son,

Deron, was born two years later with heart defects that have so far

required two surgeries. For people living in old industrial towns,

Tiah Every, who is also a plaintiff, offers this advice: " Ask a lot

of questions before you move into a place. "

By some measures, IBM hasn't shirked responsibility. It has

conducted a massive groundwater cleanup in Endicott since 1979, when

it reported a solvent spill at its electrical components factory.

Solvent vapors were discovered in Endicott homes in 2002. Since

then, under state orders, IBM says it has supplied ventilation

systems to 458 homes. Also in 2002, IBM sold its Endicott property,

but it still recycles computer parts there.

Views are mixed on whether the suits will prompt similar cases. " TCE

is the new PCB, " says Ellen Relkin, an attorney at Weitz & Luxenberg

in New York, which is involved in the Endicott cases. PCBs, used in

electrical gear, have spurred numerous successful suits. But

Bernick, an attorney who represents companies in environmental cases

for the Chicago firm of Kirkland & Ellis, says there's no strong

link between TCE vapors and health problems, which ought to

discourage court claims.