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Controversal n-hexan story related to Apple
  • neveraholidayneveraholiday
    In Swiss TV they showed a background-story on chinese workers, suffering from some kind of neuropathy. It is caused by the toxic substance n-hexan. The workers are employed at Wintek that produces around 90% of the iPad 2 and around 95% of the iPhone 4. Apple claims they had advised Wintek to stop using n-hexan. But workers say, that the toxic substance is still used in production.

    This is the link to the story:
    http://www.videoportal.sf.tv/video?id=6b3eb029-ed2d-4c2e-b9e3-e011bf3d2fcc;DCSext.zugang=videoportal_sendungsuebersicht

    Please let Apple know that they have to stop harming the people producing their products. Even more so, since Apple claims to be a green company and currently is the leading company at the stock market.
  • 7 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    >The workers are employed at Wintek that produces around 90% of the iPad 2 and around 95% of the iPhone 4.

    First. Wintek just makes sensor panels, as I know. Not iPads or iPhones.
    So, I am surprised that they didn't make film about suffering coal workers that produce energy required to make this gadgets.

    Second. It is fuckingly old news.
    http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/49-workers-poisoned-at-apples-iphone-touchscreen-supplier-wintek-20100222/

    Third. It need independent checking and rechecking. And I am sure that big amount of US companies use same cleaning agent :-)
  • SkeptikalSkeptikal
    So what else is new...

    There are literally hundreds of thousands of xenobiotics in everyday use in industry and in the home...of these tens of thousands are carcinogens. Every now and then some dickhead journalist thinks he's discovered something new...or rather newsworthy. You were probably exposed to n-hexane today, hopefully not as much as the production line workers making Apple touch screens.

    It's a chemical made from crude oil that is mixed with solvents for many uses. Inhaling n-hexane causes nerve damage and paralysis of the arms and legs. Some teens abuse products containing n-hexane by inhaling it to get "high" (a big problem with the Aborigines here in Australia).

    Since it is in gasoline, nearly everyone is exposed to very small amounts of n-hexane in the air. Exposure can occur at work and at home from using products containing n-hexane without proper ventilation.

    Unless you have a medical/biological training you would be totally shocked at the carcinogenic crap that we are exposed to in modern everyday life...why do you think the cancer rate is so high. In 1904 only 1 out of 24 Americans had cancer in his lifetime. Today the cancer rate is 1 out of 2 for men and 2 out of 3 in women.

    It's just that many of the production workers using solvents/plastics get it much sooner.
  • svartsvart
    Honestly I think the cancer rate is high because in all of our medicine, we circumvent natural selection which would normally selectively keep animals with disease traits from reproducing.
  • neveraholidayneveraholiday
    @vitaliy
    >First. Wintek just makes sensor panels, as I know. Not iPads or iPhones.
    I only translated the tv-story. There the workers obviously say, they produce these 90-95% of the device. In the translation of chinese to german anyway. What is said in the film is, that the n-hexan is used to clean the displays, because n-hexan evaporates faster than alcohol. That speeds up the production process.

    >Second. It is fuckingly old news.
    It's old news and apple already responded to the claims of the workers. But obviously with no effect on the ground.

    >And I am sure that big amount of US companies use same cleaning agent :-)
    Pretty sure about that too. But as I said, Apple wants to be a green company. Plus it has a lot of responsibility as the stronger company in stocks. And I am bound to use Apple products – kind of (I grew with them and invested a lot in their products, so my whole postproduction facilities is now stuck with apple unless I can find some cash to rebuy everything).

  • Fool4UAnywayFool4UAnyway
    > And I am bound to use Apple products – kind of...

    This lead me reasoning another way... It seems more like you want to advocate and actively choose and use (only) green products. You start complaining about Apple, but apparently you put the responsibility to your using green products or not in Apple's hands.

    I think you are not bound to using Apple products at all. It seems more like if money didn't matter, you would get other equipment. But since you can't afford to do that, you start blaming Apple instead of just admitting that it in fact may be just you who supports this non-green attitude.

    If you want the world to be more green, YOU can do something about that.
    But you don't.
  • SkeptikalSkeptikal
    Much the same chemical solvents are used by every manufacturer. Even cleaning a DSLR sensor uses similar/dangerous things (they evaporate quickly and leave minimal residue). Welcome to the modern world...
  • neveraholidayneveraholiday
    @Fool4UAnyway
    I am not saying I am green all the way through. I know everything I do has an impact to the world and I want to make my choices accordingly. But I am not going all the way.

    What I think is critical are companies that advertise something and then don't keep up to it. Most of large companies do that anyway. But it is necessary to point the fingers at them.

    Honestly, I like the apple products. And if I want to shift away from them, how many choices do I have? Would they be any better in the discussed sense?

    @Skeptical
    >Welcome to the modern world...
    The modern world is changing all the time and can be changed if enough people get their asses off the couches and speak up.
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