Merck investigating after noose found at Durham vaccine plant

Merck is investigating how a noose ended up on the campus of its Durham plant, according to a copy of a company email obtained by The News & Observer.

The pharmaceutical company operates a 262-acre facility in north Durham. A contractor on site found “a rope fashioned as a noose” at a construction project, the Saturday email said.

The rope was immediately removed, according to the email.

“Actions such as these will NOT be tolerated and individuals found committing such acts will be dealt with swiftly and severely,” site management said in the email. “As a leadership team, we are disgusted that anyone on our plant site would engage in such behavior.”

The email was signed by 17 people.

Nooses have been used as symbols of racism and hate towards Black people, alluding to the history of racial violence and lynchings that took the lives of thousands of people in the 19th and 20th centuries.

On Saturday, in response to an email seeking to confirm that a noose was found, Merck confirmed it was “investigating the incident.”

“We have zero tolerance for hate, racism, or discrimination in our workplace or society,” the company said in the statement sent to The N&O by Merck spokesman Patrick Ryan.

Ryan did not respond to multiple N&O messages by phone and email requesting further details about the incident, and the steps the company was taking to address it.

Neither the email nor Ryan said whether any outside agencies had been involved in the investigation.

The Durham site was one of two Merck plants tapped to help manufacture the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year.

In March, the federal government finalized a contract that would see it spend $105.4 million outfitting Merck’s Durham plant for the production of the vaccine — funds that would help repair or alter production buildings, The N&O has reported.

In the Saturday email, site leadership encouraged employees to voice any concerns to management, and provided other resources for support.

“Individually and collectively we must and we will stand together against racism, hate and discrimination,” the email said.

This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Merck investigating after noose found at Durham vaccine plant."