SIA calls for US cancer study
SIA president George Scalise reports: "The study will review data on more than 200,000 people who worked in US semiconductor manufacturing facilities from the late 1960s to the present time in an effort to determine whether there is an increased risk of cancer related to working in such facilities."
In 1999, the SIA created an independent panel of workplace health experts, known as the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), to review available records and determine if there is any evidence of increased cancer risk among wafer fabrication workers in the US semiconductor industry. After an 18-month study, the SAC reported that it found no affirmative evidence of increased cancer risk among semiconductor workers but that it had not found sufficient data to determine whether exposure to chemicals or other hazardous materials created an increased risk of cancer. The SAC recommended that the SIA conduct a retrospective epidemiology study, if feasible, to evaluate potential cancer risk to semiconductor workers.
In 2002, the SIA contracted with the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Bloomberg School of Public Health to conduct the feasibility study recommended by the SAC. The JHU researchers recently completed an 11-month review of historical records on job descriptions, chemical exposures, industrial hygiene, manufacturing processes and equipment, and employee health. The preliminary JHU report in March 2004 stated that sufficient records do exist to conduct a scientifically valid epidemiology study. The SIA board voted to proceed with the recommended study at its March meeting.
The SIA hopes to select a research team in Q1 2005. The JHU research team estimated that the proposed study would take from three to five years to complete. SIA member companies will fund the work.
