Motorola gets sued for birth defects

FORMER WORKERS at Motorola and their children are suing the company, blaming toxic substances used to make semiconductors and other electronics parts for serious birth defects since the 1960s.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that 71 plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Cook County, Illinois alleging that Motorola knew that chemicals used in sterile 'clean rooms' had the potential to cause birth defects in children born to people exposed to the compounds.

The complaint said that 30 children of former Motorola workers suffered from disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism and spina bifida. Some also have deformities, including one missing an ear.

The parents worked at Motorola between 1965 and 2007 and said that Motorola should have known about the potential risks. It referred to an IBM study in 1986 which said that workplace exposure to particular substances could cause reproductive harm.

A Motorola spokeswoman declined to comment on the allegations, citing company policy not to comment on pending litigation.

This isn't the first time that such a complaint has been filed against a high technology company. In 2007, Maria Ruiz sued AMD for her son's birth defects after she worked in a clean room between 1988 and 2002. µ