IBM Settles Suit Alleging Its Plant Caused Birth Defects

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IBM Settles Suit Alleging Its Plant Caused Birth Defects

Courts: Agreement is part of a multibillion-dollar fight between the

computer giant and its chemical suppliers and 220 of its employees.

By: P.J. HUFFSTUTTER

TIMES STAFF WRITER

In a blow to a high-tech industry that has long portrayed itself as

a " clean " manufacturer, IBM Corp. settled a lawsuit with two former

employees who claimed that exposure to toxic fumes at one of the

computer giant's plants caused their son's birth defects.

The settlement, disclosed Tuesday, is but one piece of the ongoing,

multibillion-dollar legal fight between IBM and its chemical

suppliers, and more than 220 IBM employees and their families at IBM

semiconductor plants in San , New York and Vermont.

The litigation, closely watched by the technology industry, could

serve as a bellwether for other, similar complaints against computer

manufacturers, legal experts say.

National Semiconductor Corp. is facing similar complaints connected

to plants in Northern California and Scotland, with complaints

brought by workers, former employees and their families.

In the IBM case, Ruffing and Faye Carlton were employed in

the 1980s at IBM's semiconductor manufacturing plant in East

Fishkill, N.Y. Ruffing mixed chemicals in large drums, while Carlton

worked in a chemical-processing area.

According to court filings, Ruffing and Carlton came into contact

with toxic chemicals that ultimately led to birth defects in their

son, Zachary Ruffing. Zachary, now 15, was born blind and with

facial deformities that prevent him from breathing normally.

The Ruffing case, filed in 1996, initially sought $40 million in

damages. It was set for trial in late February. Details of the

settlement, which was signed late Friday, were sealed.

" The other cases are continuing to go forward, " said

DeProspo, co-lead counsel for Ruffing and Carlton and the other

complaints against IBM. He declined to comment on Friday's settlement.

In a statement, IBM said that it admitted no liability in the

settlement, and that " the vast majority of civil cases in America

terminate without a trial, and that is particularly true as regards

cases involving novel and complex issues of law, science and fact. "

But such cases sully the long-standing public image of ecological

consciousness in Silicon Valley, where factory workers are portrayed

in television ads as wearing disco-colored " bunny suits " and dancing

in sterile " clean rooms, " industry experts said.

" The fact that IBM felt compelled to settle this case when it was on

the verge of going to court is a good sign that they felt insecure in

their position, " said Ted , executive director of the Silicon

Valley Toxics Coalition, a nonprofit environmental group. " This is

just the tip of the iceberg. "

In court filings and in interviews with environmental groups, workers

from IBM and National Semiconductor have cited cases of employees

wearing protective suits who fainted from chemical leaks and vomited

in clean-room showers.

National Semiconductor, based in Santa Clara, Calif., could not be

reached for comment late Tuesday.

Officials with the Semiconductor Industry Assn., the trade group for

U.S.-based chip makers, declined to comment on the IBM settlement.

The industry group's staff said they are aware of various reports of

alleged cancer complaints and other health problems among workers in

chip-manufacturing facilities.

They declined to talk about the specifics of these complaints.

" While we don't have any scientific data, we are looking into the

matter, " said Molly Marr, an association spokeswoman. " We've done

medical studies in the past, and we're looking into doing one now. "

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Associated Press was used in compiling this report.