

A factory that supplies Apple and Nokia used the toxic solvent n-hexane  - Kudgeon
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/china-and-its-neighbors/100312/apple-news-iPhone-asia-illness

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illumin8
After reading the article, there seemed to be one factory manager that started
using this solvent because it dries faster than alcohol, allowing him to shave
a few seconds off the production time of each flat screen.

They said this manager was fired, and based on the number of employees
spending sick days in the hospital, I'm sure the company ended up losing a lot
of money on their medical bills.

This is hardly newsworthy. It happens all the time in China. Someone unethical
wants to skim a little money by using cheaper chemicals, or wants to make a
few more cents by producing faster using an unsafe process.

You can't blame Apple or Nokia. They likely dictated exactly what solvents
were to be used, but the supplier decided they can hire fewer workers if they
use the faster drying solvent, so they decided to cut corners.

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wdewind
For the sake of playing devil's advocate:

These chemicals are having an effect on the Chinese economy, and thus the
world economy (globalized economic impact), as well as in some cases the
environment. That kind of changes whose responsibility it is, because it
really does affect all of us (this is a localized case, but there are many
American manufacturers who manufacture items in China with methods that
severely harm the environment in and out of China). Apple really should
maintain more control over manufacturing processes. As a major player in both
the US and the entire world, and a representative of the US economically (this
is important because we constantly ask 3rd world countries to cut emissions
and regulate things like this), they have a responsibility to make sure they
don't do things like this in all areas of product creation (just because its
offshore and outsourced doesn't mean they have 0 responsibility) when the cost
of ensuring it to them would be essentially unnoticeable.

If it would be extremely costly to do this kind of regulation (since the
Chinese obviously wont) on Apple's part, it would be reasonable to discount
their responsibility, but it really wouldn't be that expensive if they wanted
to. It's a bit naive to assume that Apple isn't knowingly turning a blind eye
to manufacturing conditions. Apple obviously knows things like this are prone
to happen when you outsource manufacturing in 3rd world countries, so maybe we
should be asking them to do a better job of regulating who they do business
with considering the range of impact they actually have...

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protomyth
With journalism like this, what reason would any company like Apple publish
audits when it will be distorted for link bait. I was so hoping that with the
advent of the web we would get decent investigative reporting, but the
sensational headline has been replaced with SEO.

~~~
mbreese
Agreed. This isn't a problem for just Apple and Nokia, it is a problem for the
entire industry. In fact, I'd argue that this should be _less_ of a problem
for Apple, because their products aren't necessarily as pricing sensitive as
the Lenovo, Dell, and HPs of the world.

I think that there is a reason why other companies haven't done or published
an audit like Apple... they don't want to know the results. If they knew the
results, then they'd be obligated to do something about it.

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justin_hancock
Whilst there maybe some nasty sensationalism going on here, that does not
entirely exonerate Apple/Nokia. They put enormous pressures on their suppliers
to deliver more goods in less time. The inevitable consequence is that the
supplier pressures the production line to produce more and nasty shocks like
this okay. The fact that this went on for a year or so unchecked means Apple
is not auditing regularly enough. If Apple were running the production process
itself I doubt this would happen, however when it outsources it does. Apple
needs to be a good corporate citizen and also put its money where its mouth
is, if suppliers do this cut them off.

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Loic
Toxicity of N-Hexane on Wikipedia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexane#Toxicity>

Basically, the problem is more the volatility than anything else, so it may be
bad for the poor Chinese people working "just there" but for the end user in
Europe, this is safe as it will have evaporated long before reaching us.

Call me a cynical, but for one case like that, how many unknown cases?
Especially because in China/India, you contract one company which will sub
contract to an array of smaller companies with often very bad working
conditions.

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Kudgeon
It certainly sensationalizes one side more, and I think that companies can't
extensively look over every part of their manufacturing process that they
outsource. However, companies like Apple and Nokia need to be a little more
socially responsible and monitor who they do business with . . . obviously
easier said than done.

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plaes
Well, isn't "everything" around us toxic, when handled inappropriately without
proper equipment and caution?

Take water (dihydrogen monoxide) for an example - you can drown in it. Or pure
ogyxen - extremely flammable.

So it isn't about toxic substances - it is about handling them with care.

~~~
ars
You got downmodded because the first part of what you wrote seemed silly.

But your point about handling them with care is correct. You can use n-hexane,
but only if you handle it properly.

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idlewords
For context, n-hexane is essentially gasoline.

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hackermom
I don't like how the author of the article angles the irresponsible actions of
those in charge of the factory, as being the fault of Apple and Nokia. There
is a consistent tone of "Apple/Nokia uses illegal chemical n-hexane in
factories". Simple sensationalism.

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anApple
And that's the reason why I don't buy apple products. Apple has used many
toxic/nature killing compounds in the past as well.

