Former employees of RCA (Radio Corporation of America) are preparing a lawsuit against the US electronics giant, seeking compensation for deaths and ailments allegedly caused by pollution at the corporation's plant in the 1970s.
At least 293 people who had worked at the plant have died of cancer so far.
Over 70 alleged victims of contamination from RCA's plant in Taoyuan traveled to Taipei yesterday to petition the government for assistance in legal action they are planning to lodge against the US pioneer of TV technology.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"My wife, who worked at the plant for 11 years, died of breast cancer. And my four-month-old daughter also died because cancer was transmitted to her from her mother," said Liu Pang-chu (劉邦助), one of the petitioners. "It was because of the contamination that I've lost my wife and daughter."
RCA, a manufacturer of television sets and other electronic products, expanded its manufacturing operations to Taiwan in 1970. The company sold its Taiwan plant in 1992 and left to open a new plant in Singapore.
Pollution from the plant, which was first detected seven years ago, is alleged to have caused more than 1,000 cancer cases and 293 deaths from the disease so far. It was found that groundwater and soil have been contaminated with heavy metals from waste produced from the plant.
Among the petitioners yesterday were family members of the 263 deceased, former workers afflicted with cancer and others whose risk of getting cancer is said to be dozens of times higher than normal.
At a meeting with government agencies arranged by independent legislator Shih Ming-te (施明德), the workers asked the government to assist them in filing a lawsuit against RCA, which was acquired in 1986 by General Electric Company for more than US$6 billion. In 1987, General Electric sold its consumer-electronics manufacturing operations, including RCA, to the French corporation Thomson SA.
"The litigation fee could be millions and it's far too expensive [for us to] afford,"said Ku Yu-ling (
"The government might be hesitant to help, but we're determined to file the suit," she said.
Though RCA ceased operations in Taiwan in 1992, the company still has several billion Taiwan dollars in bank accounts in Taiwan, according to officials with the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Ku said they are looking for attorneys experienced in international litigation, but are facing financial constraints.
Liang Ko-ping (
Initial investigations by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) did not find a link between the workers' disease and contamination at RCA's plant. Over the years, the CLA has carried out several investigations but to this day has failed to conclude that the ailments the workers suffer from is an occupational disease. It is for this reason that the cancer-stricken workers have not been able to claim their labor insurance and have to pay costly medical expenses.
Petitioners yesterday also sought government help with ailing workers' medical expenses and asked that medical examinations of the workers be carried out.
Aside from the CLA's research on the former employees' health conditions, the Environmental Protection Administration has also carried out an investigation into cancer risks faced by residents living near the plant. It found that residents downstream from the plant have a risk of getting cancer that is several dozen times higher than normal. The EPA report concluded that, even after several years of clean-up work, underground water downstream from the plant still shows high concentrations of toxic chemicals.
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