But critics charge that the chip-making business is anything but clean and that many companies, through their use of toxic materials, continue to expose workers to a variety of potential health problems, including cancer, miscarriages and birth defects. Such problems are only now coming to light due to the decades it frequently takes for problems to appear after initial exposure to toxins. They're still in use today. Many of these materials are known or suspected carcinogens. To be sure, the U.S. semiconductor industry, employing more than 280,000 people worldwide, has made significant improvements over the years in workplace safety and automation.
Machines now handle many tasks that once required a human touch.
Chip manufacturers say that their factories met industrial standards of the time and that they have consistently improved working standards as more was learned about the possible health effects of various production materials. The lawsuits charge that these companies knowingly exposed workers to a wide variety of hazardous toxins. They allege that the semiconductor industry has yet to acknowledge what critics say is a lethal legacy of employee mistreatment. I wasn't the best mechanic in the world, but I was adequate. For protection, Harris wore nothing more than a cloth smock over his street clothes and a helmet with a plastic visor.