Special Report: Boeing’s Toxic Legacy

Toxic Boeing

January 2023: This is a series about the dangers of chemical exposure to Boeing workers in the Puget Sound region. According to records obtained exclusively by The Daily Herald, the aerospace company knew for decades that toxins used in its factories posed risks not just to employees, but also to their unborn children.

A Boeing 777 freighter is seen in final assembly at Boeing’s Everett Production Facility on June 15, in Everett. (Jennifer Buchanan/The Seattle Times via AP, Pool)

Secret files reveal Boeing doctor warned of toxic risks, birth defects

In 1980, a doctor wrote factory chemicals would cause “life-long chronic illness, cancer and death.” Lawsuits claim his worst fears came true.

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Traffic moves along Highway 526 in front of Boeing’s Everett Production Facility on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Boeing knew of ‘elevated’ miscarriage rate in ’80s, but followup fizzled

Company doctors found it “difficult” to link chemicals to worker ailments. But a thorough study would have been “inviting liability,” a plaintiff"s attorney said.

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One worker looks up from the cargo area as another works in what will be the passenger compartment on one of the first Boeing 787 jets as it stands near completion at the front of the assembly line on May 19, 2008, in Everett. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson)

Boeing workers long-exposed to excessive carcinogen levels

The company confirmed in depositions that parts of its Everett plant still don’t meet 2010 standards.

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Dr. Barry Dunphy in his lab coat at Boeing. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

For embattled Boeing doctor’s family, a ‘posthumous vindication’

Barry Dunphy warned Boeing about its toxic chemicals. The company’s reaction changed his demeanor, but not his values, his children say.

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Marie Riley, 42, sits in her dining room with a cup of tea on Oct. 25, at her family’s home in North Bend. Riley was born with tetralogy of fallot, a rare congenital heart condition that has required multiple open-heart surgeries during her lifetime. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Born with heart defect, Boeing worker’s child ‘never knew anything different’

Six years ago, Marie Riley heard about a law firm seeking aerospace workers whose children suffered birth defects — like her.

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The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 13, 2021. (AP Photo / Richard Drew, file)

A recap of 3 lawsuits over chemical exposure at Boeing plants

Parents believe toxins in company factories caused serious birth defects in their kids.

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