A factory that supplies Apple and Nokia used the toxic solvent n-hexane | Hacker News Reader

A factory that supplies Apple and Nokia used the toxic solvent n-hexane

globalpost.com

17 pointsKudgeon12 comments

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For context, n-hexane is essentially gasoline.

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.

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.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com