MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - Following the demands by China Labor Watch and Green America watchdog groups, Apple decided to ban the use of two toxic chemicals, benzene and n-hexane, from final assembly processes for its products, PC World reports.
On Thursday Apple declared that after investigating 22 of its factories no widespread use of the chemicals was found and that “no evidence of worker health and safety being put at risk” was discovered either. The two chemicals were actually discovered at 4 of the facilities but in quantities that did not violate Apple’s safety regulations.
Earlier this year Green America and China Labor watch staged a protest outside an Apple store in New York. They wanted the company to be more transparent regarding the chemicals used by its manufacturers and to create a fund to help factory workers who were injured or became ill making Apple products.
Nevertheless, Apple concluded that there are safer alternatives to benzene and n-hexane and decided to ban their use as cleaning agents starting September 1.
Apple suppliers are still permitted to use both chemicals, but only before the final assembly process.
In 2009 in China 137 workers at one of Apple’s suppliers were exposed to n-hexane, and two years later some of them demanded Apple to pay for their treatment, claiming that their health had worsened.
