Samsung, Environ to release results of cancer probe

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that it will release the results later this week of a probe into health and safety conditions at its semiconductor factories, following the deaths and illnesses of several employees. The company will brief the results of the one-year probe to media on Thursday at its Giheung plant in Yongin city, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, spokesman Park Cheon-ho said by phone. Kwon Oh-hyun, president of Samsung's recently merged chip and display division, and officials from Environ Holdings Inc., a U.S.-based consulting firm specializing in health and environmental issues, will answer questions from reporters, he added. A group of experts led by Environ embarked on the probe into Samsung's semiconductor factories in July last year after deaths and illnesses of Samsung employees caused fears that its plants may pose risks of cancer. Last month, a Seoul court held Samsung responsible for the deaths of two young employees, who died of leukemia in 2006 and 2007. The court ordered a state-run worker welfare agency to pay compensation to the bereaved families. "It is presumable that their constant exposure to toxic chemicals and ionizing radiation had caused or, at least, expedited the illness," the court said in a ruling statement.