Axt Case Study and It's Deadly Effects

AXT Case Study and Its Deadly Effects

Root Problems

Despite citations and fines, American Xtal Technologies also known as AXT was not able to improve the safety conditions of its workers. The factory would rather lay off potential ill workers and pack up to move it operations where there are less strict health regulations in place for employees.

The lack of information, lack of hazardous training, and lack of taking safety precautions to ensure that air was not above toxic limits are all root problems that caused an ethical blow out for AXT and its former employees.

Even before CAL/OSHA had begun monitoring the air quality in the plant, the company had been conducting their own internal air monitoring. The internal monitoring revealed that their employees had been exposed to over 21 times the permissible limit for arsenic dust since 1999 and did little to inform, educate and improve conditions for their employees.

Over 500 of employees were left unemployed and in fear of growing ill. Now without employment they may have difficulty receiving a thorough health screening to determine whether their old work environment has caused them or their family any harm. The vast majority of the employees had not been informed of working in a hazardous environment and may have exposed their families.

Roles of the Key players

There were many key players involved in this case. AXT management played the leading role in the misconduct. The unknowing employees and their families affected by the toxins. CAL/OSHA, who inspected the facilities help prove the claims of the employees. Lastly, the community stepped in to aid the victims.

AXT specialized in producing crystals of gallium arsenide, a compound semiconductor whose properties have special applications and are used in devices such as cell phones and satellites. Gallium arsenide is a very fragile entity. Employees' dealings with it consisted of slicing it into flat wafers. Manipulating these crystals generates particles of dust that linger in the air. This dust settles into the clothing and can seep into the lungs. Once absorbed into the body, gallium arsenide breaks down into the deadly cancer causing toxin, carcinogen arsenic. The management employees played a key role in this case because according to investigations, the evidence has indicated that they were fully aware of their employees' exposure to the arsenic. They were aware that the exposure reached levels 4 times above the legal limit. In one case, an employee was monitored and he was determined to have been exposed to the dust 31 times the allowed maximum exposure. Management failed to train the employees on the health issues and health risks. Because of no safety training, the employees were unaware that they coming home and exposing their families to the toxin from the residue left on their clothing. The proper safety equipment to protect its employees was not supplied. The ventilation systems knowingly needed repairing. The air quality was never fully tested. AXT did not take responsibility for any of the health problems that the employees complained about, they made employees sign waivers stating that the problems were not related to their jobs. Management failed to provide a safe work environment for their employees.

There were over 130 employees who reported symptoms and health issues. Unbeknownst to these employees, they were inhaling and absorbing the gallium arsenide into their bodies: turning it into the deadly carcinogen arsenic. They exposed their families to the toxin because the residue remained on their clothing when they left work. Some of the health problems that were reported were: miscarriages, birth defects, issues with their hands and feet, and heavy coughing.

CAL/OSHA stands for California - Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It is a state agency who conducts inspections of California work facilities. They enforce safety and health hazard laws and respond to reports of hazardous work conditions, injuries, or illnesses. Their role was to come in and investigate the work conditions in AXT's Fremont Facility. They shut down the facility for four days, forced the company to clean up their act, and fined the company over $200,000.

The final entity in this case is the Community. The community nobly stepped up and provided much assistance to the former workers. Many organizations and health facilities came to the aid for these victims. They came together to provided medical evaluations, screenings, and provide information on their enduring health risks. Many community organizations, former employees, and families are demanding that the company take accountability for their actions and provide compensation for the necessary health care.

Ethical Issues Involved

In this case, there was more destructive than constructive ethical behavior demonstrated. AXT clearly was a clearly unethical company and so was its management team. The community's involvement was impressive.

AXT clearly did not show compassion for its employees. They unethically kept knowing, important safety and health information from their employees. They did not provide the proper safety training and equipment. They did not provide a safe working environment for their employees. They refused to take responsibility for the health problems and symptoms that their employees began to complain about. The list goes on and on. Once approached by CAL/OSHA, AXT instead of trying to go to the aid of their employees, accepting responsibilities for their actions, and trying to make things right, they went into defense mode and hired a well known law firm. To this day, the company does not take accountability; they simply moved their establishment to a foreign territory.

Even after the Cal/OSHA shut down the AXT factory for four days in 2000, issued 42 citations, fined the company over $200,000, and ordered AXT to take appropriate safety measures, employees continued to be overexposed to gallium arsenide. Instead of cleaning up the factory, AXT began a four-year process of laying off more than 500 workers in the U.S. and moving production overseas to China, thereby escaping further liability in the U.S.

As a result, many former workers, most of whom are Chinese immigrants who speak little or no English, have been left without jobs and with a growing fear and anxiety about their health. The former workers and community groups are now calling upon AXT to