IBM/Philips site workers log illness

WICCOPEE — Eleven workers at the IBM and Philips Semiconductors plants have complained of symptoms and sought further medical treatment following the accidental release of a powdery chemical, the two companies said Monday.

The chemical was released shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday from exhaust ducts at the Philips manufacturing plant. The two companies have plants at the same industrial campus in East Fishkill. A similar incident happened July 7.

Eight employees and two contract workers from IBM complained of symptoms that included sore throats and a metallic taste in the mouth, IBM spokesman Steve Cole said.

Three Philips employees were evaluated by company health officials Thursday, Philips spokesman Paul Morrison said. Since then, one of the employees has sought further treatment. The employee is awaiting the results of tests, but has been cleared to work by her personal physician, Morrison said.

Cathy Webster, a Manpower Inc. employee who works at IBM's East Fishkill plant, said she was transported to Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie Thursday because she had a scratchy throat, headache, nausea and trouble breathing.

"They did blood work, [gave] oxygen with humidity treatment and took a chest X-ray and gave medication via IV for nausea," she said in an e-mail message.

She was told to drink lots of fluids, use a humidifier in the house, take nausea medication and follow up with a doctor, she said.

The IBM employees were all treated by IBM's on-site medical department, and the contract employees requested transportation to local hospital emergency rooms. The eight IBM employees all returned to work that day, and no one required further treatment, Cole said.

"Everyone's returned to work as far as we know," he said.

Sean Lee, regional director for Manpower, said he was aware of the incident but would not comment.

"Our policy is not to talk about who our customers are and what may or may not happen on a customer's site," Lee said.

Second incident

It was the second time in as many months that the Philips plant inadvertently released ammonium hexafluorosilicate, a by-product of its manufacturing process. The company said it has started an investigation of its air-handling system to identify and correct any problems, and possibly replace the system. IBM will assist.

"We will share whatever information we have with Philips to assist them in correcting their system problem," he said.

Thursday's incident — but not any of the effects on employees — was reported to the state Department of Environmental Conservation by both companies. The DEC investigated the incident Friday, and identified damage to employee cars as the only problem. Philips has agreed to replace windows pitted by the substance on about 300 cars.

The Dutchess County Department of Health researches the potential health effects of exposure to industrial or environmental chemicals, but only does so when individuals request help, said Rich Robbins, associate public health sanitarian. The department does not have an investigative team for this type of incident and it does not have an industrial hygienist on staff. It consults with federal and state experts so it can advise patients and their doctors.

"Our role is to provide guidance on the health effects. We don't do that unless we're asked," Robbins said.

A company must report an incident to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration only if one of its employees dies, or if three of its employees are admitted to hospitals for treatment. Thursday's incident did not meet that criteria, and the incident was not reported.

Dan Shapley can be reached at dshapley@poughkeepsiejournal.com