Friday, March 25, 2011

Harsh reality behind Apple scandal | China Watch:

While fans eagerly await the release date for iPad 2, which Apple Inc is keeping secret, a Chinese worker in a plant that produces Apple components has his own secret.

For 13 months, Hu Jie has painfully kept from his wife and daughter the fact that he's one of 137 employees harmed by exposure to a toxic chemical at an Apple supplier factory in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Employees of United Win Technology suffered muscular atrophy and damage to their nervous system after using a chemical, n-hexane, to clean touch panels from August 2008 to July 2009. The company is owned by Taiwan-based Wintek Corp, which produces iPhone components for Apple.