Epidemiological review of the health impacts in the global electronics industry

Since the early 1980s, there has been a growing concern over the harmful health effects of production of electronic components (especially cancer and adverse reproductive outcomes). In response to the emergence of disturbing health patterns, several epidemiological studies have been conducted in the US, Scotland, Korea, and Taiwan. Although no consistent findings have been observed across studies, elevated risk for some types of cancer has been found: breast (Taiwan), lung (UK), brain and hematologic (US), and hematologic cancer (Korea). Regarding reproductive outcomes, menstrual cycle aberration, decreased fecundability and increase of spontaneous abortion have been consistently observed across studies in various designs. In addition, elevated risk of congenital anomalies and some cancer among offspring have been identified. International collaboration and in-person survey is required to overcome insufficient statistical power and to minimize information bias from the exclusive use of secondary data. Review of available corporate data is vital to ensure transparency and optimize study results. In addition, workers' participation in planning and conducting studies should be undertaken to improve our understanding of working conditions.