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David Moroney • Published 24 Aug 2010 14:00
STAFF and former employees at a Greenock electronics plant have been told they are NOT at an increased risk of getting cancer.
The news brings an end to an agonising wait for scores of Inverclyde families who feared they could have developed the disease after working at the factory.
Hundreds of staff, former workers and relatives of people who have now died, were informed today of the findings of a new study into cancer risks at National Semiconductor UK (NSUK).
An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive and Institute of Occupational Medicine has not established a link between working at the factory in Greenock and occupational cancers.
Co-author of the report, HSE’s chief medical adviser and head of epidemiology, Dr John Osman, said: “I am satisfied the findings do not indicate that NSUK staff face an increased risk of developing occupational cancer.
“This is an independent, robust piece of scientific research and we have taken our responsibilities to the workforce very seriously.
“The research does not establish a link between cancer and employment at NSUK.
“I hope present and former employees will find some comfort in these results.
“They have waited patiently to discover the outcome of this research and I hope this report offers some clarity and reassurance.”
Support group Phase Two (People for Health and Safety in Electronics) was established in 1997, mainly by former employees who had been diagnosed with cancer.
The group campaigned for a study to investigate possible links between NSUK in Greenock and cancer among employees.
A report in 2001 found higher than expected levels of lung, stomach and breast cancers among female employees, and brain cancer in males.
However, a conclusive link between the workplace and increased rates of cancer was not established and a further study was agreed.
The new research, thought to have cost more than £300,000, looked particularly at the work done by women with lung, breast and stomach cancer and men with brain
cancer, as well as considering lifestyle factors.
According to the report, the number of employees with cancer is within the range expected for a workforce of a similar age and background.
This was also the case for each of the individual types of cancer studied, say the scientists.
The report’s authors revealed the research failed to find any notable differences between the work done by women with breast cancer and their colleagues, and that the report did not produce any important new results concerning work done by people with lung, stomach and brain cancer.
The HSE said there are no plans for further research at NSUK.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 24 Aug 10
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