Nine former employees of a US tyre plant who developed occupational cancers as a result of toxic exposures have been told by chemical giants it was their own fault. The group, who all worked at Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, were exposed to benzene but have been told they caused their own cancer because they “voluntarily used the chemicals knowing the dangers and risks, and they failed to take precautions which could have avoided injuries.” The allegation comes from 16 defendants in a US lawsuit, including Exxon Mobil Corp., Sun Petroleum Products Co., Texaco, Standard Oil Co., Shell Canada and Shell Chemical. The petrochemical companies say there were warnings on the chemicals and they were complying with industry standards, adding the cancers were due to unavoidable accidents or ‘abnormal or unintended uses’ of the products.
