Corporations attributed occupational cancers to worker genetics rather than chemical exposure

Evidence

The occurrence of malignancies in factory workers was attributed to genetic aberrations. In commenting on an epidemiological study done for MCA that showed increased incidence of cancers among PVC workers, W. D. Harris, an industrial taxologist at Uniroyal, questioned the evidence because the cancer incidence did not seem to be dose-related. He opted for genetic predisposition: “There just is a suggestion that people who for some reason are susceptible to cancer will be affected and die within this period of time. If they don’t die within this period, they won’t” (Markowitz & Rosner, 2008). Regarding acroosteolysis (AOL), a degenerative bone condition associated with vinyl chloride exposure, a Monsanto scientist commented, “[U]ltimately we may find that AOL is related to a chromosomal aberration which if confirmed, may be used to select PVC and VCM workers” (Ingle, 1969). — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1787

Categorization

• SEED: The ‘genetic susceptibility’ gambit — reframing dose-response study failures as inherent worker fragility rather than flawed exposure measurement. Modern echo: how genomics framing can displace occupational-safety blame onto the worker’s genome.
• XREF: connects to: Postwar vaccine-driven disease declines turned public fear toward pollution-linked cancers. — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 255