Arizona news station KPHO recently won a Rocky Mountain Emmy for its investigation of clean rooms in plants that manufacture computer chips.

KPHO was awarded by the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences this year for its investigative piece, "High Technology High Risk." The segment identified a possible link between computer chip clean rooms and birth defects in the children of people who worked in these rooms. Two other news pieces won the Specialty Assignment Report Emmy with KPHO: KYVE-TV won for its segment, "Aguas Mortales," and KOLD for "Ticket Hot Spots."

Plattner Verderame's Clients Highlighted by KPHO's Investigative Story

"High Technology High Risk" interviewed attorney Frank Verderame about his clients: dozens of Arizona families exposed to the chemical used in the clean rooms during the microchip manufacturing process.

Two families' tragedies were highlighted in KPHO's story. Bob and Janice Numkena, of Tempe, worked at a local Motorola plant that manufactured computer chips. Janice worked the night shift in the clean rooms before, during, and after her pregnancies and was exposed to chemicals used in the microchip manufacturing process. Both of her daughters, now adults, suffer from birth defects that require constant attention. One daughter has cerebral palsy and demands round-the-clock care from her father. Her mother, Janice, is now deceased.

Rosa and Henry Arballo can sympathize with the Numkenas. After several miscarriages, the Arballos finally welcomed their son, Danny, into the world. Soon, the Arballos discovered that Danny suffered from epilepsy, vision, and speech issues. Rosa worked in Motorola's clean rooms before, during, and after her pregnancy, just like Janice Numkena. KPHO's report claims that dozens of other families with members who worked for Motorola are in similar predicaments.

The chemical that the KPHO piece claims is to blame for the birth defects is ethylene glycol ether. Glycol ether was used to scrub clean rooms in plants, including Motorola, from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 1981, its producer, Union Carbide, issued a warning to companies that used its product that the chemical could cause birth defects. In 1982, the California Department of Health Services issued a Hazard Alert about glycol ether, noting that it caused birth defects in lab animals. More warnings were issued between 1987 and 1993, but semiconductor companies still continued to use the product.

Motorola, although no longer in the semiconductor business, claims that when it produced computer chips that it "always strived to meet the highest safety standards."

Plattner Verderame PC has already filed birth defect claims on behalf of clients against microchip manufacturers including Intel and Motorola.

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Did Clean-Room Chemicals Cause Birth Defects?