Chris McCarty

Former Dow Corning Co. CEO Richard Hazleton kept about 100 students “abreast” of the silicone breast implant controversy Wednesday.

The event, part of the College of Business Administration’s “Executive in the Residence” program, took place in the Bovee University Center Auditorium.

In the 1960s, two scientists approached Dow Corning about the idea of breast implants, Hazleton said.

“Silicone offered hope,” he said. “It was a part of reconstructive surgery.”

Medical information surfaced that breast implants caused diseases, such as lupus, in the 1980s.

A wave of lawsuits hit Dow Corning in the 1990s, Hazleton said. In 1991, more than 100 lawsuits were filed. It increased to 3,500 a year later, and in 1995 the number was 19,000.

“We used $3.2 billion to settle the lawsuits,” Hazleton said.

The settlement caused Dow Corning to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

He said it was less expensive to settle than to fight and solve the issues.

Medical journals, along with the Food and Drug Administration, later reported there was not substantial evidence that breast implants caused diseases, Hazleton said.

“We needed an understanding from everyone,” he said.

The company dealt with moral and ethical issues at the time as it tried to resolve its financial complications, Hazleton said.

“The whole time we were trying to do the right thing.”

Dow Corning debated if it should withdraw from playing a role in the silicone implant product, he said.

Hazleton said the company had moral responsibilities to women who needed breast implants for reconstructive surgery.

The breast implant controversy had its pros and cons, he said.

“There were lessons learned,” Hazleton said.

It changed how Dow Corning tested new products, he said.

Corning also is now working on the maintenance of the company and its relationships.

“I thought the speech was very informative,” said Cassidy Hardy, Marlette sophomore.

Hazleton, who retired in March 2001, worked at Dow Corning for 36 years. In 1993, he was appointed to CEO and in 1994, he became chairman of the board.

He is a director of the Chemical Bank & Trust Company and a member of the Charles J. Strosacker Foundation board of trustees in Midland.

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