The Taipei District Court yesterday ordered Radio Corp of America (RCA) and its affiliates to pay NT$2.3 billion (US$76.15 million) to 1,120 former employees and family members over exposure to toxic materials.
The ruling, which could still be appealed, follows a separate judgement last year by the Supreme Court, which upheld a previous order for General Electric (GE) and Thomson Consumer Electronics (TCE) to pay 262 former employees and affected family members NT$564.45 million.
The plaintiffs in yesterday’s ruling were not a part of that lawsuit, choosing instead to file their own complaint.
Photo: Huang Chieh, Taipei Times
Earlier rulings on the matter found that RCA was liable for the cancer and illnesses its employees contracted while handling solvents that were later determined to be carcinogenic at an RCA factory in then-Taoyuan County.
Investigators also found that toxic waste was dumped around the factory, contaminating soil and groundwater.
Former employees said that more than 200 people have died due to exposure to toxic chemicals.
RCA, which operated in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Yilan counties from 1970 to 1992, employed tens of thousands of people in the manufacture of televisions and other electronics, during which it used up to 31 organic solvents, including trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethene, exposure to which increases the risk of cancer, a previous verdict said.
The RCA Self-Help Association, made up of former RCA employees and family members, started protesting in 1998 and filed a lawsuit in 2004 after more than 1,300 were diagnosed with various types of cancer.
It has since become one of the nation’s longest-running legal battles between a corporation and its employees.
In 1986, RCA was absorbed by US giant GE, which two years later sold RCA’s consumer electronics department to TCE, the US arm of a French firm now known as Technicolor SA.
In last year’s ruling, judges said that RCA had deliberately transferred a large portion of its assets out of Taiwan to reduce its financial liability when GE sold it to TCE, and executives then transferred US$150 million into overseas bank accounts.
After the contamination was reported at the Taoyuan site in 1991, the company sold the building and land for about NT$1.9 billion the following year, the Supreme Court said.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number