Apple is banning the use of two potentially hazardous chemicals during the final assembly of iPhones and iPads as part of the iPhone-makers commitment to protect factory workers who build its devices.
The decision was announced on August 13 and comes five months after activist groups Green America and China Labor Watch launched a petition drive calling on Apple Inc. to stop using benzene and n-hexane in the production of iPhones, according to the Associated Press.
Apple says that they found no evidence that either of the chemicals was endangering the 500,000 people who work at the plants after a four-month investigation at 22 factories.
Nevertheless, the company decided that the substances should no longer be allowed during the final assembly process.
Benzene can cause leukemia and n-hexane can cause nerve damage, according to the Associated Press.
Back in 2010, Apple supplier Wintek revealed that it had treated workers exposed to n-hexane after 44 workers threatened to sue over the chemical, according to AppleInsider.com.
The use of potentially dangerous chemicals by Apple partner suppliers, specifically Foxconn's use of n-hexane, which gained attention when entertainer Mike Daisey fabricated claims about workers being exposed to substances in a critique of working conditions throughout Apple's supply chain.
It was reported that some 6 workers were hospitalized for months as a result of being poisoned by n-hexane, which they were supposedly forced to use because it dries faster and cleaner than other alternatives like alcohol.
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