“Workers in southern China, who say they were assembling Apple laptops and iPhones, have become seriously ill after using a dangerous chemical,” Stephen McDonell reports for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) News.
“The Number Five People’s Hospital in Suzhou has been treating workers who breathed in vapours from the chemical n-hexane,” McDonell reports. “According to the workers, the chemical was being used in the production of Apple products and has left them unable to walk.”
McDonell reports, “They say they were using n-hexane to glue and polish the logos on Apple products – at least they assumed they were not fakes. One had kept some of the logos they were using to prove that they were working on Apple products and showed them to the ABC. After breathing in the chemical’s vapours, they became dizzy and numb and eventually they could not walk… The women have now been in hospital for more than half a year.”
“The workers’ boss, Zhong Jianxiang, was not available to be interviewed,” McDonell reports. “Apple, meanwhile, would not confirm it had sourced products from companies based in China, but said it had tightened its requirements regarding workplace safety at its suppliers.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Melo” and “Michael D.” for the heads up.]
I don’t care how many Asians are killed or paralyzed, I want my iPhone 4 NOW!!!
Enslave more.
I don’t care how many Asians are killed or paralyzed, I want my iPhone 4 NOW!!!
Enslave more.
@grh
It’s blown out of proportion because the article title sensationalizes the issue with “Workers poisoned while making iPhones”.
The real title should be “Yet another example of China treating its citizens like disposable lighters and its environment like a toilet”.
Getting a cross-flow breeze so workers aren’t inhaling super-high-vapor-pressure solvents is too simple.
And, by the way, grh: Thou might dismount from your high steed as you gallop in here, for you blocketh the sun down here amongst the minions.
@grh
It’s blown out of proportion because the article title sensationalizes the issue with “Workers poisoned while making iPhones”.
The real title should be “Yet another example of China treating its citizens like disposable lighters and its environment like a toilet”.
Getting a cross-flow breeze so workers aren’t inhaling super-high-vapor-pressure solvents is too simple.
And, by the way, grh: Thou might dismount from your high steed as you gallop in here, for you blocketh the sun down here amongst the minions.
Stephen Mcdonell’s article extract.
“In a small, grubby open shed a young woman picks a plastic piece from the pile in front of her, lights it, sniffs it to discern what sort of plastic it is and then consigns it to the appropriate recycling bin. Instantly the process is repeated and again, perhaps thousands of times during her shift. We can only guess at the cumulative damage she’s doing to herself.
In a small factory space workers apply a solvent to a well known computer logo before affixing them to laptops. They suffer chronic illness and end up in hospital with an uncertain future. Elsewhere we find workers from another much bigger factory convalescing from their protracted exposure to the same solvent used in their stage of the manufacturing process – cleaning the touch-screens of new generation devices. Some of these workers have been in hospital many months as their central nervous systems slowly repaired as best they could”.
@ grh: Full article from Wikipedia on this link:-http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/07/
Extract> “Chinese-workers-sickness-hexane-apple-iphone the chemical’s potential risks are well-known in industry, as are safe exposure limits. But the Wintek manager who decided to switch from alcohol to n-hexane for cleaning – apparently because it dried more quickly – did not assess the dangers. It was used without proper ventilation.
The change was obvious; workers disliked the pungent smell of n-hexane. But they had no idea it might affect their health. “We hadn’t even heard of occupational illnesses before,” said Wintek worker Xiao Ling”.
Stephen Mcdonell’s article extract.
“In a small, grubby open shed a young woman picks a plastic piece from the pile in front of her, lights it, sniffs it to discern what sort of plastic it is and then consigns it to the appropriate recycling bin. Instantly the process is repeated and again, perhaps thousands of times during her shift. We can only guess at the cumulative damage she’s doing to herself.
In a small factory space workers apply a solvent to a well known computer logo before affixing them to laptops. They suffer chronic illness and end up in hospital with an uncertain future. Elsewhere we find workers from another much bigger factory convalescing from their protracted exposure to the same solvent used in their stage of the manufacturing process – cleaning the touch-screens of new generation devices. Some of these workers have been in hospital many months as their central nervous systems slowly repaired as best they could”.
@ grh: Full article from Wikipedia on this link:-http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/07/
Extract> “Chinese-workers-sickness-hexane-apple-iphone the chemical’s potential risks are well-known in industry, as are safe exposure limits. But the Wintek manager who decided to switch from alcohol to n-hexane for cleaning – apparently because it dried more quickly – did not assess the dangers. It was used without proper ventilation.
The change was obvious; workers disliked the pungent smell of n-hexane. But they had no idea it might affect their health. “We hadn’t even heard of occupational illnesses before,” said Wintek worker Xiao Ling”.
Full link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/07/chinese-workers-sickness-hexane-apple-iphone
Full link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/07/chinese-workers-sickness-hexane-apple-iphone
Stephen Mcdonell’s link:-http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2010/s3044840.htm
Stephen Mcdonell’s link:-http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2010/s3044840.htm
Sounds like an issue that the Chinese manufacturer needs to deal with and not Apple!
Sounds like an issue that the Chinese manufacturer needs to deal with and not Apple!
Sounds like a G.D. knock-off operation to me. Can’t trust the chinese for anything worthwhile except food (without MSG, of course).
Sounds like a G.D. knock-off operation to me. Can’t trust the chinese for anything worthwhile except food (without MSG, of course).
@grh Very well put. It’s amazing how callous and immature most of the posts are on this site.
@grh Very well put. It’s amazing how callous and immature most of the posts are on this site.
I believe Fury is a fine example of said posting. Right dopey?
I believe Fury is a fine example of said posting. Right dopey?