Watch and Green America say Apple should stop using harmful chemicals including the solvents n-hexane and benzene in its manufacturing.
But they said that they were not calling for a customer boycott of the products, and that any reports suggesting that were “misinterpretation”.
The groups will call on Wednesday for Apple to “stop needlessly exposing workers in Chinese manufacturing facilities to toxic chemicals now causing severe illnesses.
The solvent n-hexane is used to clean electronic displays,
including Apple’s iPhone. It is used rather than conventional solvents such as
isopropanol or other alcohols because it evaporates around three times faster:
that means washed screens are dry more quickly, so workers can clean more of
them in a given period. But exposure can cause nerve damage and even paralysis.
N-hexane has been blamed for a number of poisoning episodes at iPhone
manufacturing plants in China.
Apple states that “suppliers must eliminate chemical hazards
where possible” and where that is not possible that suppliers should provide
physical systems to prevent exposure, or “administrative controls such as safe
work procedures” when physical systems are not possible.
Benzene is used as a cleaning and coating agent for
electronic components. But it is also a carcinogen which can cause reproductive
abnormalities and leukemia.
Apple was not alone
in needing to stop its use of such chemicals, citing other major rivals.
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