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Samsung Apologizes For Workers' Leukemia 150

itwbennett writes: "In an emailed statement, Samsung offered its 'sincerest apology' for the sickness and deaths of some of its workers, vowing to compensate those affected and their families. So far there have been 26 reported victims of blood cancers who worked in Samsung's Gi-Heung and On-Yang semiconductor plants. Ten have died. Other alleged workplace-related illnesses include miscarriages, infertility, hair loss, blood disorders, kidney troubles and liver disease."
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Samsung Apologizes For Workers' Leukemia

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  • Re:Only apologies? (Score:4, Informative)

    by GameboyRMH ( 1153867 ) <gameboyrmh&gmail,com> on Wednesday May 14, 2014 @03:48PM (#47002413) Journal

    Addendum: OK, TFA says Samsung will compensate the families. Seems like something that should have been in TFS.

  • Re:Only apologies? (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 14, 2014 @04:02PM (#47002587)

    In an emailed statement, Samsung offered its 'sincerest apology' for the sickness and deaths of some of its workers, vowing to compensate those affected and their families.

    First sentence of the summary.

    First.

    Sentence.

  • Re:Murder (Score:2, Informative)

    by gnasher719 ( 869701 ) on Wednesday May 14, 2014 @05:12PM (#47003483)

    And yet, their employees do not jump off the factory roofs.

    Well, this is the first article ever on Slashdot about Samsung killing its employees. (It was reported elsewhere, but on Slashdot I'm generally surprised about the headline calling them "Samsung" and not "Apple supplier"). Numbers about other deaths at Samsung factories haven't been reported. Seems unlikely that their employees die from cancer and are invulnerable to accidents. Numbers of suicides haven't been reported. Seems unlikely that there aren't any, but reporters in South Korea trying to report negatives about Samsung tend to lose their jobs quickly.

  • Re:Good for them (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 14, 2014 @05:17PM (#47003533)

    Samsung is the largest of 5 companies that control 90% of the SK economy. Most of the SK govt is literally on their payroll. Look up the term "Chaebol". In the SK you don't even /talk/ about Samsung because if anything you say might be perceived as negative you're basically unable to find a job for the rest of your life.

    They're about as monstrous and amoral as a company can get.. But it's tolerated because the SK economy has such rapid growth. The moment that's over shit is going to hit the fan.

  • by Paul Fernhout ( 109597 ) on Wednesday May 14, 2014 @11:19PM (#47006067) Homepage

    From a law firm (biased, perhaps): http://consumerjusticegroup.co... [consumerjusticegroup.com]
    "Workers at IBM and at other microchip fabs, or "fabrication plants," are exposed to benzene and other toxic carcinogens that can cause birth defects, leukemia, and other serious, debilitating medical conditions. While "bunny suits" prevent dust, hair, and skin cells from coming into contact with microchips, too often not enough is done in microchip factories to prevent the person inside the suit from breathing dangerous cancer-causing chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde while at the workplace. Since 2000, IBM has faced lawsuits from more than 250 former microchip plant employees. And since 2000, IBM has worked to suppress scientific findings showing the increase of cancer incidences in their microchip plant workers."

    And also:
    "Life In The Plume: IBM's Pollution Haunts a Village"
    http://www.syracuse.com/specia... [syracuse.com]
    "But for much of its history, Big Blue routinely polluted its birthplace. Tons of industrial solvents used to clean computer parts were dumped down drains or leached from leaky pipes into the ground for years before environmental rules required that such "spills" be reported. In 2002, scientists discovered the ground was exacting its revenge: The large underground chemical plume was releasing gases into homes and offices in a 350-acre swath south of the plant. The main chemical was a liquid cleaning agent called trichloroethylene, or TCE, that has been linked to cancer and other illnesses. IBM took responsibility and launched a multimillion-dollar cleanup. At the same time, the company announced plans to sell the plant and to ship many jobs overseas. ... "We found out that IBM had two faces in this community," said Matt LaTessa, a barber whose shop is on Monroe Street in The Plume. "One was a nice face, beautiful, big buildings and a lot of jobs. But underneath they were rotten. They were poisoning us." ..."

    Versus:

    "MD Anderson Taps IBM Watson to Power "Moon Shots" Mission Aimed at Ending Cancer, Starting with Leukemia"
    http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us... [ibm.com]
    "MD Anderson's Oncology Expert Advisor powered by IBM Watson is designed to integrate the knowledge of MD Anderson's clinicians and researchers, and to advance the cancer center's goal of treating patients with the most effective, safe and evidence-based standard of care available. Starting with the fight against Leukemia, MD Anderson's Oncology Expert Advisor is expected to help MD Anderson clinicians develop, observe and fine-tune treatment plans for patients, while helping them recognize adverse events that may occur throughout the care continuum. The cognitive-powered technology is also expected to help researchers advance novel discoveries."

    Although, consider:
    "Eat For Health - The Anti-Cancer Diet"
    https://www.drfuhrman.com/libr... [drfuhrman.com]

    Also Vitamin D and iodine can help prevent cancer...

    When I worked at IBM Watson as a software developer, part of that time my workstation was put in windowless old labs that has been used for who knows what... To his credit, my supervisor tried really hard to make sure the second lab had been fully renovated...

    Someone from Switzerland who saw other windowless offices at Watson said all that would be illegal in Switzerland, to have people working in windowless rooms... Not sure what the Swiss lawas are on chemical exposure... Back then was when I thought a lot about how all fabs and related labs should be 100% roboticized on the production floor. Bunny suits in that sense are such a quaint 20th century idea...

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